


Junkabout

by orphan_account



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:09:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9277445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A plane crashes over the Outback leaving a young woman stranded as the sole survivor. Now she must survive the harsh environment with a wild Junker.





	1. Intro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm supposed to be finishing other things but I had this idea and well... whatever.

Your plane plummeted down from the morning sky, diving nose first at incredible speed. Explosions issued from it that resonated across the land as shrapnel was sent flying in a flurry.

When it thrust into the ground it tossed all the sand, sending any wildlife in the area fleeing. You lay unmoving in your upturned seat not knowing whether you were alive or dead, surrounded by the bodies of other passengers, some thrown from where they had sat. Whatever it was that had kept you alive, you would later be unsure whether it was a blessing or a curse.

To trained eyes, it wasn't hard to tell that what had brought the plane down certainly wasn't simple bad luck.

You were unconscious for an hour, maybe two.

On awaking you screamed at the sight you were met with. Blood had caked the lower side of your face where it had streamed from your nose after colliding with the floor. There was a burning pain in your shoulder, and severe stinging where a gash had formed down your left arm. Your seat and the heavy chunk of metal that was sprawled across it had you anchored in place. As you writhed, freedom felt close, until another great weight was added above. Weeping as you struggled you looked on at the flames that were blazing about you, for they seemed to be creeping closer. You heaved your body with all your might but to no avail.

Panic set in.

As fate would have it, a sole pair of eyes was drawn to the crashed plane.  

* * *

He'd been out here for days. A wild Junker roaming the arid landscape, hunting for scrap so that he might further eke out a living here Outback.

He had watched the plane as it fell, gushing to himself over the explosions as such things would never cease to excite him. A magnificent display, loud and violent.

Unable to help himself he neared the wreck, a monument amongst knolls of sand shining in the sun's light. It was doused in fire and quite possibly one of the most awe inspiring things he had ever seen. A part of the husk fell and roused a great flame. Entering it was going to be a fairly dangerous deed, but nothing the Junker couldn't handle for his life had always been rife with danger and risky exploits.

Being a product of the radioactive Never-Never, he was used to undertaking hazardous ventures and ever ready to gamble life itself for what was needed in order to thrive.

There was enough scrap from the plane to last him a long while, and it would be a nice change from the usual foraging through remnants of the omnium. However, he couldn't exactly haul everything back at once, he'd have to remember where it had fallen somehow. With the plane up in flames, it was more or less like a beacon in this stretch of the land. There was a possibility any others in the vicinity would notice it burning so bright, so he'd have to be quick about hauling what he could back home. He wanted this find for his self. No fighting over it, no squabble.

With him he had a weathered and crude motorbike, from which hung many tattered bags destined to be loaded with odd bits and bobs. It saved heaving stuff about in his arms, though it wasn't the easiest thing to drive. Walking with the vehicle toward the wreck, he admired further the scene of chaos. Not a single thought was spared for the people within, whether they were fine or not. The Junker's mind was only focused on, well, junk.

Drawing closer, his face piqued more and more with curiosity, the light from the fire reflecting in his widened eyes of gold. The treasure before him only became more enticing with every twisted shape and fragmented curve that revealed itself.

Coming to a hole blown in the side of the plane, he rubbed his hands together like a rascal that had just hatched some devious plot. As he peeked inside he made a mental list of what he wanted to take, things that had fallen apart from the hull and fancy looking trinkets littering the place. Clambering in, it was soon very obvious that the fire was going to prove to be a big problem. The heat from the flames made the Junker sweat more than he ever did out in the sun, but what had he to tackle it with? He had to find some way to move about it, so he weaved in and out, raking through spilled luggage and delivering scrap out to his rusted vehicle. He didn't pay much mind to the lifeless bodies about him, maneuvering past them without care. The whole ordeal was tragic, but he couldn't change it, and this was going to keep him fed and watered for months.

There wasn't really room for feeling anymore out in the Outback.

While making a final return to his bike with debris lodged beneath both arms, his eyes caught sight of something glittering beside him on the floor. He dropped what he was carrying to study it and all the scrap fell with a great clatter. He then doubled over to observe what was an extravagant piece of jewelry, a necklace that seemed crafted from the gold of the sun itself before him. The accessory alone could probably score him a lot, by the looks of it enough to tear down his home town and rebuild it over, or at least he hoped.

After picking the item up and cradling it in his hands, the Junker noticed blood smeared on the floor below. It trailed off ahead, and he followed it as best he could with focused eyes, his vision impaired in the thick cloud of billowing smoke.

It led to a mass of mussed hair belonging to a corpse fixed beneath an upturned seat. There was something along the lines of pity welling up within him as he looked down at the body and the small pool of blood around it. Such a mournful scene of hopelessness, the poor bugger clearly unable to have done anything in their final moment as they lay trapped in the burning wreckage.

Turning away to make off with the spoils of the day, the Junker felt something cold clasp around his leg.

The body that was anchored down came to life with sudden slow movements, grabbing his calf with a hand wet with blood. The head rose up timidly, revealing the face of a young woman who had struggled and given up.

It was a pleasant face, he thought, battered as it was. 

"Well, I'll be..." The Junker said to himself, "A live Sheila!".

* * *

You motioned toward the flames that were lurking closer and closer to where you lay. The scruffy man before you didn't appear at all bothered about them, though the heat from them was intolerable and you were starting to get anxious. You were weighed down good and proper with no idea as to whether this man was going to be of any help at all. Where he had come from you had no clue and as to what he had said you didn't care, you just wanted to get free. Squirming in your spot you tried to show him the predicament you were in.

Without a word, the strange man hauled what held your seat in place and tossed it elsewhere, allowing you to free yourself. He did it so effortlessly that if there was any time to marvel, you would have. As you eased your way from beneath what had held you captive, the man took you by the arm and pulled you to your feet. You let out a small pained noise in response for he hadn't seen the huge gash on your limb, not to mention your shoulder was in agony too.

There wasn't an apology or anything from him, just an unsettled expression at the sound you made. He seemed somewhat nervous as he looked at you.

Making to ask if he knew what had determined the fate of this flight, you opened your mouth to speak, but he simply left to leave you to your own devices. No questions, no answers, no nothing.

You hurriedly scrambled to rescue what could be of your belongings before all was lost to flames, most of it beyond the point of saving, ramming what was of use into your now damaged suitcase. Your head grew lighter as you stood. This all seemed straight out of a story from a book. Wires hung like vines from the ceiling and the hull still collapsed all around. The smell of smoke and an array of things burning was overpowering.

Not wanting to look back on the carnage behind, on the now dead faces that you once had spoken to, you rushed to spring out the gaping hole you saw the man exit out of.

He was leaving on a bike down the slope of sand, as if he had immediately forgotten about you.

How could he just leave you like this?

"Wait! STOP!" You called out to him. Your body was battered and you couldn't muster the energy required to chase after him. "WAIT!".

You tried something of a feeble attempt at running, hissing every time your injured arm moved just a little too much. The sand seemed to flurry up behind his bike and cloud his location for a time, though you could hear him speeding along.

Then he stopped.

The short amount of silence was followed by a string of colourful expletives and as the dust settled, you spied him kicking at his motionless bike. Seeing this as an opportunity, you rushed toward him while he threw a fit. Your feet felt increasingly strange, wobbling in the red sand as if this was the first time you had ran in all your life. The repeated clanking sound of him striking the vehicle seemed to synchronize with every hastened step you took.

"Excuse me," You panted on reaching the man, grasping at your luggage and blowing hair from your eyes, "Where am I?".

The man turned at the question. He was quite intimidating, yet in a comical manner. Tall and toothy, with blonde hair set ablaze and two limbs of metal. While somewhat scrawny at first glance, his muscles were well defined and visible under the layer of murk that caked him, his bare torso shrouded in soot. 

"You're in the Outback...this not ya destination?" He replied, trailing off with a little laugh.

You answered "No", tearing up as you glanced towards the wreck of the plane. This was the sort of thing you only thought ever happened in stories. Fate had been cruel, and you wondered why you were the only one left to live of all those people. So many lives needlessly snuffed out and you were left to stand, lathered in blood. "Can you take me somewhere? Anywhere?" You pleaded on a whiny tone of desperation.

The man simply frowned.

"Oh, please..." You continued to beg, "I'll die out here."

A grumble of annoyance emitted from the man as he stood thinking, his face screwed up half out of annoyance and half out of concentration. "Fine," He eventually decided, "Ya don't exactly look the type to cope out here anyways...but it looks like we'll be walking." He lamented over the loss of his bike.

You had to take a gander at what he had stuffed in the bags hung from the vehicle and well, it just looked like rubbish.

"And where will you take me?" You asked, "I need to see a Doctor, look." You brandished your wounds to him and he recoiled in what seemed to be disgust.

"Guess I'll take you to Junkertown." He sighed, "That's where I'm from. Don't expect no fancy-pants Doctor there though. Yer'll more likely find a bloke that'll do more harm then good." He laughed to himself in a highly discomforting manner.

"How long will it take for us to get there on foot then?" You questioned.

The man shrugged in response, picking one bag from the bike and beginning to walk ahead, "C'mon, we gotta find some shade." 

"Oh, don't you want to take this with you? The bike I mean. Seems a waste to just leave it here." While smoke was pouring from the back of the vehicle, you still thought it a crime to move on without it, still possibly of use.

"Well, now it'd just be another burden with me. So no." The man replied, still walking and not even turning to look.

You trailed behind, ignoring what was implied in those words.

* * *

After travelling for a while, the sun began taking its toll on your skin and you felt exhausted, drained. As if the crash wasn't enough to deplete you of whatever energy you had, now there was the task of trekking along this scorched landscape. Rest was the only thing you desired.

The pair of you hiked over rock and sand, and through stretches of nothingness. Dirt coated your face as you ventured onward and mixed with sweat, creating a foul mask that you repeatedly tried to wash away with your hands. Every muscle in your legs screamed as you moved, not being used to scaling so much distance in such little time. It was definitely going to be an arduous journey if this was only the start. This wasn't exactly the Australia you knew either. 

There was much resentment here, and much sorrow.

The Outback had become as a great wasteland, sweltering and toxic. Anything and everything here was destined to be torn to shreds by scavengers, for the people here lived as buzzards, picking all that could be picked from whatever lay dead, scrounging the remains of the totaled omnium. There was some irony to the fact that what had ravaged the region now gave its inhabitants the means to survive. These people were known as Junker's and you now knew the man you traveled with to be one. A new breed of people, born of the radiation and burnt Earth of this land. You had to wonder if they had a life before all this, or if scavenging was all they had known.

A palpable melancholy blew in on the gentle winds with strife that now seemed as old as the sun. It rode in on the rolling drone of a didgeridoo, with the hop of a Kangaroo, and each touch of blasted Earth. A pain that lingered. 

Displacement and poisoned land. It left a lasting anguish, and now there was utter devastation. The new world had pushed further out the old with the Omnics, irradiating ancient rock, mutating the animals and contaminating the air. The Outback had plummeted into an apocalypse, affecting every little thing beneath the sky. The two-headed Bungarra that hissed as it wildly scurried by your feet being somewhat evident of that. 

"Bloody hell!" You shrieked as the lizard dashed away. "It's like everything here wants to kill me."

A shrill laugh came from the man beside you, "That's just it, Sheila! Everythin' does!"


	2. Bombs and Bush Tucker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The standard thing applies here, (Y/N) = Your name! If your name is Sheila then, heck.

Your prayers for respite were answered when you and the Junker happened upon a long dead tree. It lacked any leaves to blot out the sun, but regardless you plonked yourself down at its feet and breathed a sigh of relief, aching as though you had been walking for years. Your bad arm made you want to scream in agony, the open wound upon it had collected airborne sand and it only worsened the pain. Leaning back into the scorched bark and trying to get comfortable, you shifted and fussed, placing your suitcase upon your beaten lap.

"Here, pass me that!" The Junker demanded, pointing to clothing that was oozing out of your suitcase. You didn't even hesitate or question whatever he wanted it for and handed it to him. Almost instantly he ripped it apart, much to your horror and dismay. Then he clambered up the tree, astoundingly well for having a peg leg, and stretched the torn apparel across branches onto which he latched it. "Now we've got some shade. I guess." He shouted from above.

Perhaps you'd given him too much credit for his skill at climbing up for when he came back down, he misplaced his booted foot and slipped, tumbling all the way until his face was buried in the unsettled Earth. You tried not to laugh, really you did, but the clumsy feat was too ridiculous. The man looked on at your cackling face with an unimpressed expression, visibly not happy about making a fool of himself. The sand that now peppered his hair and bushy eyebrows made him look more absurd than before as he lay sullen in a heap. Heaving himself up from the ground and dusting himself off, he came to sit beneath the shade beside you in what was relatively awkward silence.

You felt you could have gone to sleep right then and there, definitely knowing you didn't want to do anymore walking in the heat of the day. Between that and the crash it was all too much. Closing your eyes you inhaled and exhaled deeply, focusing only on your breath, wanting to forget about everything and dream away. Away where none of this could find you.

You could sense the eyes of the man beside you, staring. "How 'bout we get you cleaned up there? It's lookin' bad." He said, when you at last returned a gaze. You nodded, still resting your head back against the tree. He took from his bag a bottle filled with what you assumed to be water and a make-shift bandage. "Not often I'd help just anyone like this, but it ain't everyday ya get a Sheila fall from the sky." He chuckled. There was something you found unsettling about his laugh, about his whole demeanor, but you trusted him despite all that for some reason. If he was going to be your only companion and guide here then so be it, it wasn't as though any choice was presented. He seemed ever skittish and as though he were ready to pounce on something, or someone. His outlandish looks didn't make him anymore pleasant, though his appearance suited the rugged, sunburnt landscape. It even seemed as though he was a part of the landscape, just fitting in. How long had he been out here? You had to wonder. You thought on all the stories of what had happened to the Outback, the Omnic's, the radiation, the struggle of the locals. It wasn't utterly evident in the mass of sand you had seen so far, but it certainly was evident in the man alongside you. A definite product of a searing, radioactive land. 

"Now, hold still." The man advised, inching further towards you. He took a drop of water to your open wound, cleaning it of any dirt. It stung, but you bore the pain, biting your lip and looking away. The skin around the gash was pale as bone, and the wound itself was coloured with a sickening array of reds and pinks. The injury soon found itself coated in material as the man attempted to bandage it, his tongue stuck out in concentration. Though he seemed the type to be rough and uncaring, his hands were gentle and now completely conscious about hurting you at all. He couldn't quite get the bandaging right however, weaving it this way and that.

"Here," You announced, "I'll do it myself." Holding out your free hand you waited for him to stop, that you might continue on with it alone. His intention was pure, but he had no clue as to what he was doing.

"How do ya reckon you'd get it done with one hand? Let me finish it. I know what I'm doing!" He said.

You rolled your eyes. It sounded like he genuinely believed himself. "Well, it doesn't exactly look like it." You commented, observing his struggle, "I could probably do better with my eyes closed."

He stopped in a huff and glared at you. A fairly menacing feat combined with his sharp features, at least menacing enough for you to shuffle away slightly in something close to fear. He did seem the unpredictable type.

"Fine then, you do it!" He fumed and dropped your arm, causing you to wince in pain. He then moved away to the other side of the tree, away from the shade in a strop. It was an incredible amount of offence he took from your words, not seeming to be one for taking criticism of any manner very well.

You followed him with your eyes, watching his every movement. It wasn't exactly intentional, your infuriating of him.

When your injured arm was bandaged to the best of your ability, you tried to rest. Granted, the torn clothing above didn't do much to keep away the sun, but it was the best you were going to get. Dehydration began crawling upon you, your mouth dry and longing for just a morsel of water. While drawn to the bottle the man had used, you didn't dare touch it upon remembering how hard clean water must be to come by out here. It would have to be preserved. Rationed.

Pondering on what possible trials were ahead, you drifted away on the waves of sleep.

* * *

You awoke at evening, the sky magnificent hues of red and orange with not a cloud suspended above. Each mound of sand in the distance dancing in the haze of the heat and the sun large as it slowly crept down behind the spine of the land. There was a dreamlike quality to everything, as if you were still sleeping.

The first thing you thought to do in your drowsy state was to check on the Junker. You feared he might've stormed off as you slumbered.

To your relief, he hadn't.

You found him still perched beneath the other side of the tree, awake, and fidgeting with his prosthetic leg. "How are you?" You asked him softly, leaning against the trunk of the tree and walking your fingers languidly along the bark.

He was somewhat startled by your sudden words and presence, jumping ever so slightly out of his skin. "'M fine," He replied, "You?".

"Great thanks, never better." You responded sarcastically, "I'm sorry about before...didn't exactly mean to upset you so much."

The man snapped, sounding relatively bitter, "Me? Upset? Nah. An' you can keep ya sorry." 

You aired a sound of disbelief and brought a look of shock upon your face, "So you're not going to accept my apology? And you're just going to sit there sulking like...like a child?"

No response. Just the sounds of the man continuing to tinker with his metallic peg leg.

"And we're going to get nowhere? Well, fine then. I'll go ahead myself." You announced, hoisting your suitcase from where it sat and wobbling slowly off. "Goodbye!" You walked on so sure of yourself, with your nose stuck up in the air. You didn't really want to leave him, and you didn't plan to. He just needed to learn a lesson...or something like that.

"Oi! Wait! Wait!" He cried, chasing after you before you could walk off into the sunset, "There's no need for this and yer'll die alone out here, ya know that."

You halted but refused to look at him. What did he care?

"I wasn't sulking, and there's no hard feeling's between us...that's why I didn't want your apology. Plus I was bein' kind of a dipstick before...." He explained, clearly having a hard time admitting he was ever wrong in any way.

Under lidded eyes, you glared at him sourly, "The truth?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "The truth."

"All right then, I imagine it will be dark soon anyhow." And so you marched back to beneath the tree, weary feet trawling in the sand, feeling bad for having started a little needless drama between the pair of you. "I suppose maybe I over-reacted a little there." You admitted as you seated yourself down once more.

"A little." The man snickered, and you gave him a mock frown before the pair of you erupted into a fit of giggles.

When the session of laughter died down you began to properly take in the man before you. As your weary eyes glanced into his, you could sense a certain innocence about him. Though feral and unruly, he could be yet tender. Fascinating really, so unlike anybody else you had ever encountered, clearly tinged by the radiation of the land.

You found yourself wanting to know more about him, you wanted to peer into his head and see how his mind worked. To peruse through his memories and take a gander at what had molded him into the man he was to-day. "Do you have a name?" You asked him without thought.

"Well..." He began, "Name's Jamison, or Junkrat, whatever. Name's don't exactly mean much out here."

You weren't sure whether the latter part of the sentence was grim truth or wicked humour. Either way you found both name's fitting, and gladness came with knowing them. "Good to know." You said with a gentle smile, "My name's (Y/N)".

"Nice name. Suits you." Junkrat replied, "But that blood doesn't." And with that, he pointed out dried patches of darkened red that still clung to your neck. 

Surprised that all the sweat hadn't washed it off, you wiped the blood away with your fingers, wishing he had informed you about it earlier. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" You grumbled.

"Forgot." Junkrat bluntly answered, "Not like there's anybody else to see it anyway. Don't exactly have to be so conscious about yer looks out here."

That was a fair point he had, but still that didn't mean you wanted to parade about with blood on you. Why make such a fuss about your appearance out here though really? Alone with the human personification of an illegal bonfire, it should be such a minuscule thing that need be forgotten, he himself covered in a manner of grime and goodness knows what. "Suppose so." You mumbled, still grooming yourself.

Suddenly there sounded a startling growl, churning and deep, bringing what you were doing to a halt. "What was that?" You asked fearfully, heart racing.

A long wheezing laughter came from Junkrat, "Now that...would have been my stomach." He cackled, "All this walking around y'know, really works up a fella's appetite."

You nodded to his words, feeling slightly embarrassed at being so alarmed by the mere rumbling of his belly. However, you guessed maybe being so on edge out here might prove to be a good thing.

"Good job I've got quite a bit of food left." Junkrat announced as he stood, stretching as he rose. He continued to ramble as he rummaged through his weathered bag of supplies, the sounds of various items clashing with one another almost drowning out his speech. "Oh." He suddenly mumbled, rather downheartedly, as he stopped browsing.

You clambered to your feet in a haste, "What is it?"

"Umm...well," Junkrat said, nervously scratching the back of his head, "I might not exactly have as much food as I thought." 

"And how much would that be?" You asked while moving beside him.

"This." He answered with uneasy laughter as he revealed a single can with a worn label.

You peered into the bag yourself, confused. "Then what the heck is all that in here?", you reached in and began pulling out something metallic to the touch before Junkrat grabbed your wrist and placed it back.

"Please, don't touch that." He stressed.

You glanced into the bag once more, "Oh my...these are bombs aren't they? You mean to tell me you packed more bombs than food?"

"Maybe." Junkrat replied, giving an exaggerated shrug, "Don't you question my ways!"

* * *

Junkrat fretted a lot over his beloved explosives, such dear things to him they were. His reliable companions and entertainer's on lonely journey's across the Outback, magnificent boon's of chaos too. Nothing brought him more joy than to witness their final moment's, their detonation, the eruption of flame and smoke that came with every blast. It was an obsession that had burrowed deep within him and refused to let him go. Bombs were first and foremost at all times, and to see the girl respond to them in the manner she did made his skin crawl. And so what if he prioritized them?

Holding his last can of food he glanced over to the girl as she sat a miserable mess beneath the tree. Up to this point he only really thought of her as a burden but honestly the company was nice, albeit at times annoying. In Junkertown there was never much cause to make friends, and those you knew would never hesitate to tear you apart over the slightest dispute. It was safe to say Junkrat didn't have much great experience with people. Now he had someone who depended on him, someone soft, not roughened up or hardened by any cruel wasteland as he. Displeasure's aside, the girl was like no one he had ever seen before, not harsh or coarse in any manner, appearing from a different world entirely. Though weary and filthy from misfortune and crawling out a burning wreck, still she looked pleasant, emitting an aura of splendour with not a thing maniacal about her.

It was a pitiful sight to see her so mournful beneath the branches, so Junkrat thought he'd do right by offering her the last of his rations. "You want this?" He asked, pointing to the can in his hand.

The girl shook her head and politely declined, "No, you have it. I'm not quite hungry."

"But I insist."

Batting her hands as if to shoo his words away like flies, the girl declined once more.

"C'mon just take it, don't wanna starve do ya?"

"And what about you? Won't you starve?"

"I'll get somethin' else, you take it!" Junkrat said. Couldn't she see he was just trying to be polite?

"Fine, if it'll make you happy. I don't expect you'd find much food out here though." She said, snatching the tin-can reluctantly from his hand. "Can't you just share this with me?"

"Nah, it's all yours. I'll go out and find somethin' for meself."

"Like what?"

An ear-splitting grin grew on Junkrat's face as he spied his supper sneaking down from the tree, fast food delivering itself to him just when ordered, a hefty lizard that had been lurking about.

The girl shot her glance to where his eyes were fixed and gasped quietly in shock, "Surely you aren't thinking of..."

"You bet, Sheila." Junkrat chuckled darkly, watching the lizard freeze in place not too short of where the girl was, her head turning this way and that in bewilderment.

"But you can't, that's awful." She whined.

"Listen, mate..." Junkrat began with a serious face, "Folks round 'ere have been gnawing on these buggers for bajillions of years, so I can."

"No, you can't and you shouldn't!"

"All this coming from the Sheila that was so concerned about me starvin'."

"Well, I wouldn't say SO concerned, more of an 'I need you alive so I don't die here' sort of thing really." The girl explained, folding her arms sternly.

The lizard began to shuffle along the bark of the tree, unsettled by the row. Catching sight of its movement Junkrat hastened to catch it, tossing all else aside.

It was caught, butchered.

The girl seemed close to tears as she watched it all unfold before her, but Junkrat didn't at all feel sorry about it, in-fact he couldn't comprehend why exactly she was like that, how anybody could be like that when such things were necessary to survive. She was so strange in that manner to him. "Crikey, you're a softie." He said as he finished up the gory preparation of his meal, "Tell ya what, uh, Sheila...why don't you make yourself useful and get us a fire goin'?"

Sticks from the tree were gathered and stacked upon the ground, and with two of them the girl tried to start a fire, rubbing and trying to make enough friction to birth a flame. It was quite a pitiful attempt, so much so that Junkrat erupted into high-pitched laughter over it. "C'mon now, that's never gonna work." He cackled looming over to retrieve the sticks.

As he came into close contact with the girl, his skin brushing briefly against hers, he picked up a sweet scent that felt so out of place here. A hint of a perfumed sort lingered on her, just partially masked by body odour, and it was almost worthy of craving. Junkrat was overcome with a wave of discomfort and backed off as soon as he had what he wanted. "Here, ya gotta do it like this." He announced as he made to display his fire-making skills, fussing over every little thing.

With a focused face, the girl began staring at him as though she were trying to figure something out, all while taking a twig from the heap. The feel of her piercing gaze threw off his concentration and made him stumble in his work. He hated it so much. He wanted to blot out those staring eyes.

She began leaning towards him slowly with a raised brow, and he leaned back. Extending her arm she brought forth the twig, holding it like a wand and hovered it above his head while cackling wildly, leaving Junkrat in a perplexed state. As the little stick was drawn back he noticed it was alight with a jumping flame. The girl had used his burning hair to light it and he grumbled in annoyance, patting his fiery head.

"Guess you wont need to show me anything anymore." The girl teased as she used the twig to ignite the fire.

Junkrat was almost twitching out of irritation, "Oi, you can't do that!" He said bringing his hands to his hips.

"Yes I can."

"No you can't!"

"Can."

Junkrat groaned loudly and brought himself to his feet, "Listen uh, uh..."

"(Y/N)."

"Right, listen, (Y/N). Ya see this?" He drew a line in the sand with the bottom of his peg leg as he spoke, "Don't cross it for now, eh?"

The girl aired her displeasure, "But then you get all the fire!"

"Yeah, well..."

* * *

Night was now blanketing the sky and the stars were peeking overhead, washing the land with a gentle pale glow. A chill flourished in the air, which was welcome at first, but soon became almost as uninvited as the heat of the day.

All was quiet save the gentle crackle of the fire and odd sounds emitting from Junkrat who sat cross-legged, feasting away. His hair glowed in the dark like the hot end of a poker while the flickering light of the fire illuminated every detail of his body.

You were half surprised he didn't eat that lizard raw, he certainly seemed the type to do something like that. You were watching him from the foot of the tree, not that you particularly wanted to, but observing him sort of kept thoughts about the crash at bay. He devoured the meal so savagely as though he had never eaten in a lifetime, snarling like a feral canine while tearing off mouthfuls of meat. It was quite astonishing to see really, though in some moments it did make you feel a bit sickly and put you off your own supper. Being left to smash open the tin-can with no tools, you had found it to be filled with sliced peaches. Really you wished it was soup, but you were just grateful it wasn't dog food or anything along those lines. Junkrat had also offered you the water in the bottle used before, despite still being annoyed with you, he claimed his canteen was full to the brim so he didn't necessarily need it. When he came close to finishing consuming the cooked flesh of the lizard, you began to wonder if the local flora and fauna were really safe to eat anymore. Would they not be laced with radiation? 

Your thoughts became so distracting that you completely zoned out, blankly staring at Junkrat as your mind dissociated from your body. You wondered what plants and animals had survived the brutal conflict that occurred here, what had adapted to irradiated wastes, goliath ruins, and pollution from the omnium. Did fruits still grow ripe in the sun? Was the native peach not sour from unnatural poisons? And did the Emu still wander here?

Junkrat caught you mindlessly staring in his direction and returned a perplexed look with his animal like eyes.

Returning from the recesses of your mind and noticing the gaze of the Junker, you darted your eyes to the floor and began drawing in the sand feeling somewhat embarrassed and flushed. The cold temperature grew, and you huddled up to yourself for warmth, seeing as though the fire was across the line you had been forbidden to cross. On the ground you traced the outlines of numerous animals, succeeding only in bringing yourself back to your earlier curiosities. You cleared your throat before speaking timidly, "Junkrat, um, Jamison, was that lizard really safe to eat? I mean with the radiation and all...just wondering...".

He laughed much like the Kookaburra at your question, making you resent asking it. "It's perfectly safe, at least now anyways. I mean, it's never done me no 'arm." He said calming down from his excessive amusement.

Not another word was spoken as Junkrat finished his meal and you curled up beneath the dead tree, longing to be beside the fire. Maybe you would just go over and cross that stupid line, it was such a childish thing, but you had no idea how Junkrat might react.

In your solitary confinement to the bottom of the tree thoughts of the crash began drowning out all else, the image of the wreck's interior was conjured up in your head. The fire, the destruction, the death.

Now you were stuck in a place where the bones of the Earth were riddled with radiation and survival was difficult. Was withstanding the crash really worth it? You wondered too if you would ever make it home, or even to that Junkertown place. It didn't sound entirely pleasant to your knowledge so far and if all the people there were as Junkrat, carrying explosives in such a mass on their person, it might prove to be a very dangerous location.

What use did Junkrat have for those bombs of his out here anyway? 


	3. Where the Heat-Waves Dance Forever

It was misery you carried with yourself as you and Junkrat trekked off into the horizon, amid the glory of the morning light.

All you could focus on was the crash. The faces of the passengers seemed to appear in every little thing, along with their voices ringing in your head as a great, swelling chorus. Not even the heat could draw your thoughts away from it, nor the chafing of the blisters on your tired feet.

Junkrat had not said a word. No pleasantries were exchanged since the sun began to rise, bringing the sorrows of a new day with it. The Junker seemed entirely ignorant to your pain, or at the very least he knew but did not care.

You felt like crying and you felt like dying. What use was it to keep going here when there was no certainty you'd ever make it home, or anywhere?

Perhaps you would bury yourself in the sand and fade away.

Red sand, scorched rock, jagged debris. That was all you saw for miles. There was no welcoming home where you might rest and forget everything, nothing of the sort.

You looked to Junkrat as he hobbled on, his hunched figure bobbing up and down with the movement of his peg leg. He seemed fine. Nothing that bothered you bothered him of course, this was his domain. The wasted Outback was reflected in him and he reflected it, but you were a stranger here, unknowing and innocent to its trials and woes.

He noticed how you lagged behind and aired his annoyance, "C'mon! At this rate it'll take us forever to reach Junkertown!"

You thought maybe if you weren't with him, he might have been able to take one big leap and get there. You were a weight slowing him down and he seemed so impatient to reach his home, twitching with eagerness.

* * *

On and on you walked until mid-day came. The sun's rays grew violent and you found the air harder to breathe, suffocating on the heat and goodness knows what else that lingered in the atmosphere. You thought it possible that your skin might bubble, that the hot sand might burn through the soles of your shoes. Dizziness and disorientation reigned along with an awful sickly sensation swelling in your stomach. The pace of your steps slowed down until you were almost still.

"Hurry up, would ya?!" Junkrat yelled, unaware of what torture you were going through.

The stress of the crash and ruthless heat was all too much for your fragile state.

Collapsing to your knees, you brought yourself down until you were lying on the ground, weeping.

Curling up, you cradled your face with your hands, trying to shield yourself from everything. Soft sobs became louder, reaching the ears of Junkrat who had been proceeding alone. He gave a sigh and a roll of his eyes when he turned to see your defeated figure huddled up on the ground. Not certain how to properly react he laughed nervously. "Now, this ain't the place to take a spell!" he said, awaiting any form of response. You only continued to cry into your palms, the muffled mournful sounds stirring a feeling of uneasiness in Junkrat. He was fairly peeved at this hindrance of the journey, but all the same he couldn't quite find it in his heart to be completely mad at you. There was something about the sight of you weeping on the sand that tugged on his heartstrings just the littlest bit, evoking a sense of pity within him. The unsettling noise of your cries made him somewhat reluctant to help at first. "C'mon, ya can't stop now. Junkertown's just a day away." He said as he hesitantly tapped on your side. He had no experience with this sort of situation, but he knew that he didn't want to wait around. "Wont ya get up?" He prodded you gently in hopes of receiving a reply but you still continued to weep, just quieter.

Junkrat then thought of maybe leaving you behind, you weren't his responsibility or anything of the sort after all. Maybe you'd chance upon somebody else with more patience. "This is ridiculous." He mumbled under a harsh exhale of breath. "C'moooon..." He then drawled miserably, poking at your side once more.

You halted your crying but did not move. You were sure you couldn't continue on in the mid-day heat, and you couldn't find reason to, feeling so dizzy and weak.

After a moment of silence you removed your hands from your face and store down at the red ground, brushing your palm across the sand. You could feel Junkrat hovering over you, and he bent further down to speak. "Don't ya give in now, let's get a move on." He said in a low tone, softer in comparison to the usual irregular manners in which he spoke. The proximity of his deepened voice sent a slight shiver down your spine. "It's not all that bad." He came to rest his prosthetic hand upon your shoulder, the sudden cool touch of which caused you to gasp in surprise.

As you turned to face the Junker, he hurriedly drew away with an alarmed expression.

"Not that bad?" You hissed, disgruntled, "I feel like I'm dying. Of course it's not that bad for you...I can't believe you have the audacity to tell me it's not that bad..." Your voice trailed off into a weak whisper as you rubbed your sore eyes and arose to your feet, wobbling violently. Blood rushed far too fast from your head and you began to fall.

Before you could strike the ground, Junkrat rushed to your side and held you up, wearing a frown upon his face.

"How about we just get a move on now?" He said through gritted teeth, tightening his hold on you as you stumbled where you stood.

"Surely you don't expect me to carry on walking like this, in all this dreadful heat?" Your voice was frail and you trembled as you spoke.

"I'll help ya," Junkrat grumbled, a smack of displeasure on his voice, "Don't know how ya gonna last any longer out here if you can't deal with a couple of days..."

So you gathered your things and cleared off, steering once more across the land.

There was a throbbing pain your head and each one of your limbs felt limp, the Junker was the only thing keeping you from falling. You pressed yourself into his side for balance as he held you just above the waist, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

He would remove his hand from your side now and then, the way one draws a hand from a burning hot surface.

Holding an arm up to your eyes, you hid the sweltering sun from your sight. It glared so harshly and mocked you with every ray of light that hit.

You imagined snuffing out the sun like a candle.

* * *

Trudging further across the arid land the two of you happened across a skeleton, half-buried and bleached white, picked completely clean. Bringing a wary look upon your face, you parted your chapped lips to speak. "I don't think I'll get away from here..." You muttered while looking sadly at the bones, fearing your fate might be the same.

Junkrat chuckled at your words, the high pitched laughter grated and it felt more or less like he was mocking your pain. "Well, there ain't much of a chance like." He jested.

The Junker then looked down at your face, your trembling lips and watery eyes. There was a little strange feeling growing within him. He felt sort of bad. "Nah..." He then began, "If you keep slogging it across 'ere with me, you'll make it." He brought a small smile upon his face, softer than his others, bearing no teeth or grimace.

His words didn't do much to better your mood or awaken any form of optimism within you however.

"What do you care?" You asked, "I'm just extra baggage for you after all. Nothing more." Parting yourself from Junkrat's side you stumbled closer toward the skeleton. "I might as well give in, like this." You murmured, gesturing to the remains. "Who says I'd even make it out of this Junkertown anyway? What if I end up stuck there?"

"Ah, c'mon now, uh, Sheila." Junkrat said, "That's no way to think, ya gotta be more of a battler...'specially if ya wanna make it anywhere out 'ere."

"Hm, I reckon it wont matter whether I try or not." You gave a vacant look as you stared at the skull before you, the morbid grin and hollow eye sockets of it burning their image forever into your mind. "I must sound like a whiny brat to you, it's like fate has forced you to unwillingly babysit me or something."

"Forced? I could straight up leave ya anytime I want, Sheila." Junkrat announced.

"DON'T! You're my best bet for surviving here."

"Alright, Alright, just kiddin'!" Junkrat laughed, "Don't get'cha self all worked up. Even if I tried to get rid of ya, you'd probably find a way to come crawlin' right back anyway. You seem the type. I mean, if a bloody plane crash can't shake ya, how could I?"

Sighing you turned and began staggering back to the Junker. He wasn't half getting under your skin and you found yourself somewhat baffled as to why he was continuing to help you, of course any good person would, but now, he wasn't exactly a "good" person. He held violence over logic and being the scavenger he was, you were surprised he hadn't bumped you off yet and taken all your things. If those bombs made any statement it was that he'd be more likely to blow you up.

For what he was, Junkrat was being somewhat reasonable thus far, his own brand of nice if you will, and as much as he did unnerve you, you still found him somewhat intriguing. You didn't want to think about him, but all the same you still found yourself fascinated by him. Wondering about him. Maybe it was because you'd never met anybody like this in your life, his ways and lifestyle being so alien to your own, you guessed there wasn't any way you could help being curious.

Taking your place by the Junker once more you came to ask "How do you manage to even get anything done out here?" while wiping the perspiration from your brow. So far it had been a struggle just doing the bare minimum to stay alive. The thought of slaving away and hauling scrap about in this environment seemed an impossible feat to you. The glare of the sun beat down so unforgivably that just the thought of toiling extensively in it exhausted you.

"Just don't pay the heat no mind is all." Junkrat replied.

"But how can you when it's so brutal?"

"Well," Junkrat said with an exasperated sigh, "Ya just adapt to it, ain't exactly like I've gotta choice either. Bucklin' down and gettin' the hard yakka done isn't so bad when it's all you know."

"Do you ever get sunburnt?"

"...Can't really recall..."

"Is that what all this is for then?" You asked, swiping at Junkrat's arm with your finger and gathering a smidgen of the soot that coated him. To which he gave a look of disgust and disapproval. "Does all this...muck stop the sun from burning your skin?"

"Eh, not exactly, but if you wanna see it that way ya welcome to." Junkrat answered.

A wide roguish grin formed on the Junker's face and he let out a shrill shriek that evolved into a deep, evil sounding laughter

"Here," He said, turning to you, "This'll stop ya from gettin' sunburnt!" He cackled as he brought his hand to your face and smeared it with his own concoction of soot, grime, and dirt. You batted at him as he howled with laughter, painting your face with the filth that coated him. Spluttering, you managed to shove him off.

"Was that really necessary?" You grumbled, "If I didn't feel ill before, I really do now." The overbearing scent of his skin lingered on in your nostrils and the marks on your face where his sweaty palm had trailed just doubled your discomfort in the intense heat of noon.

"Oh! If only ya could see yourself, Sheila." Junkrat laughed, unafraid to show how amused he was, "It's quite the sight."

You frowned, dropped your suitcase, and attempted to clean your face, succeeding mostly in mucking up your hands. Wiping the grime away on your clothes and soiling them (further than they already were) was not something you intended to do and so on some wild, impulsive decision, you rushed to Junkrat and cleaned them on his worn shorts.

It was when you realised you were more or less patting his thigh that you regretted the idea, but you went along with it anyway.

Junkrat eyed the dark hand-prints now smeared across his shorts bearing an expression just short of surprise. This had made him rather uncomfortable to say the least. "Bit of a bold move there." he said.

The two of you simultaneously glared at one another, giving each other the evils, but when the both of you took in how silly the other looked, you both let slip a small spout of laughter.

The giggling made your throat hoarsen as you felt thirst strangling you.

* * *

Flies buzzed all around, humming together in irritating harmony, occasionally landing upon your face while you searched your suitcase for water. Rushing without thought made finding it a struggle, brushing past it unknowingly in your frantic dehydration induced haste. "Where is it? Where is it?" You repeated under your breath.

Growing sick of the sight and sound of your fuss retrieving the water, Junkrat decided he'd just fetch it out for you himself. He Reached into the luggage while you were still raking about and withdrew the bottle of water that kept eluding you.

There was something of a brush of hands when he brought his own from out the suitcase. It wasn't lingering, and it wasn't noticeable to you, but all the same it sent that disconcerting feeling coursing through him. That feeling he got whenever you looked at him for a little too long, whenever you came into contact with each other. It fazed him, and he brushed it off as unease. Unease that formed because you were an outsider here in the Outback, beyond all familiarity.

You didn't thank Junkrat for retrieving the bottle and immediately took a hearty swig from it. The water, though not cool, felt like the most refreshing thing you'd ever tasted in all your life.

A few drops escaped your mouth and trickled down your throat. As they did Junkrat watched them fall, flowing down beneath the top of your garment, washing the dirt from your skin and leaving little trails down toward your chest. The full bottle would have been drunk were it not for the fact that it needed to be savoured. You felt somewhat mortified that you let even the smallest droplet go to waste so carelessly. Such a staple need not be taken for granted in this land of uncertainty.

You heaved a great sigh as you put the bottle back, brushing away the sand that had drifted and found its way into your luggage.

Gazing up to Junkrat, who stood with a look akin to a scowl, you caught sight of glint above his shoulder. Something big shining in the distance where the blue sky met the red land. You squinted, a gentle warm wind running through your hair as you observed it flickering.

"Ay, uh, whatcha lookin' at there?" Junkrat said with a slight nervous laugh. He thought that you were staring him down.

Still focusing on whatever was in the distance you asked, "What's that out there?", and pointed to the distant gleam.

Junkrat turned to face the direction of the light and scratched his fiery head in confusion, "Um not sure what ya seein'."

You stood on the tips of your toes (for the Junker was tall even when hunched) and directed his line of sight with your hands. "There." You told him, further extending your pointing arm to guide him.

"Right...I see it now." He brushed your hands away from him and took a few steps forward. "Not sure what it is."

"Could it be a light from other people? Maybe they've come to rescue me!" You sang with a smile of optimism. Junkrat glowered at the light on hearing your words. "...I do hope it's people." You continued.

"Don't reckon it is." Junkrat stated, shaking his head.

"Then what could it be? It is new to you though, isn't it? I thought you'd walked here before, I thought you knew the land."

"Well, I do. I just don't remember whatever that is over there." The Junker answered with a hint of annoyance to his voice. "Tell ya what, why don't we just go over and check it out?"

The sun still beat down heavily on your back and you were sore and weary. Walking to investigate this mysterious thing meant more walking back here and thus, a longer trek to Junkertown. But still, you had hope that maybe, just maybe it was people that could help you. You agreed to inspect it, "Alright then."

Junkrat clung on to a hope that whatever it was, it was something that could be blown up. He could use a good couple of explosions, let off some steam and whatnot. All wishful thinking aside, he did feel somewhat concerned about the mysterious glint in the distance. It was nothing that he remembered on his venture to where the plane had fell, there really wasn't anything on this stretch that could produce such a light. He knew it wasn't other Junker's for sure, but perhaps it could be a vehicle, abandoned much like his own. Then again, it did look too big to be such a thing.

* * *

Moving toward the light, what was producing it became less abstracted by distance and the sun.

You gasped in astonishment at the sight ahead. It seemed a metallic tower of some variety, sprouting out of the Earth. The light bouncing off its steely side had produced the gleam you spied.

If it were a building, that meant shelter, maybe even people!

You picked up your pace, and then gathered all the strength you had left. You started to jog as best you could, without thought, or asking Junkrat what he knew of this. Going onward quicker in your weakened state wasn't easy and you could just barely manage it, heaving heavy breaths, trying to ignore the pain in your muscles and drumming in your head.

Now standing a way from the foot of the towering thing, you gazed upward and surveyed it.

In dismay and disappointment, you fell to your bruised knees. This was no tower, no place for respite or rescue, just a mammoth robotic part standing sentinel in the sand, like a great monument. A goliath limb of metal, reaching toward the sky, battered by the elements of the waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title for this chapter comes from "Where the Dead Men Lie" by Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake.


	4. Admire the View

"Surely you'd remember something like this being on your way back home?" You asked from where you knelt on the sand, voice dripping with concern, "And don't you wander all about here? I thought you Junker's went all around looking for just this kind of thing! Scrap and all that."

Junkrat tottered back and forth around the large robotic part, tracing his hands along every dip in the metal, trying to remember if he really had seen it before. "Maybe I missed a spot." he replied with a small shrug.

You were exhausted, weak, all your vitality spent. This was the last thing you needed to happen. "So, we're lost?" You cried.

"I wouldn't say lost...maybe just off course a little."

"But surely you must at least remember something like this! Or heard about it?"

"Nah."

"So then, we've been walking in the wrong direction all this time...and we're lost."

"Listen girly!" Junkrat began, "Ya got it all wrong. I NEVER would make a mistake like that, I'd consider this more of a detour myself."

"You're hopeless."

There really was memories of it buried somewhere deep within Junkrat's brain, he just couldn't quite reel them in. Memory had never been a strong point for him.

The pair of you bickered for such a long spell that you grew tired of it.

"I reckon we should just climb this bloody thing an' get a feel for just where abouts we are." Junkrat stated, bearing utmost confidence.

You squinted up to the peak of the robotic limb, from the top of which undisturbed birds heckled and cawed. You felt faint just looking at it. It wasn't the tallest thing, but it was tall enough to conjure a sense of dread at the mere thought of climbing it. "You're joking." You said in a monotonous voice, "You climb the thing yourself, I'm not going up there. I'm tired, I think my legs are about ready to drop off and I don't think I want to be any closer to the sun."

"Suit yourself then. Miss out on the fun if that's what ya really want." Junkrat spoke while he clung on to jutting parts of the metallic limb.

"It might be your idea of fun, but not mine by a longshot!"

There were numerous protruding parts on the towering appendage, where the metal was weathered and peeling back. They led up toward an unsteady looking overhang that sat half-way to the top. Climbing these extending parts was neither safe nor smart, but of course the Junker was no stranger to hazards and he didn't much care. "Spoilsport" He said under a heavy breath, "Well if you're all the way down 'ere an' I'm all the way up there, don't call for me if a snake comes along or somethin'. I wont be coming back down anytime soon."

The sound of metal on metal rang out as Junkrat proceeded upward, struggling to find balanced footing for his peg leg. You had premonitions as you watched him ascend, he seemed to know what he was doing, but all the same you harbored a fear he might fall. Then what would you do? You watched from below with bated breath as climbed up, clinging to protruding scraps of metal that creaked upon force.

He scaled the great robotic remnant with skill comparable to that of a reptile thats domain was rocky outcrops and the boughs of trees. When he reached the overhang he turned and scurried his way on with reasonable ease.

You moved to sit in the shadow of the robotic limb, finding some relief in the shade. The sound of Junkrat clattering about was all that could be heard, just unnerving silence otherwise.

What Junkrat had said of snakes came to mind when shifting sand was spied by you ahead. Your thoughts turned to venom, to swollen limbs and punctured flesh. There were things you spotted moving in the corner of your eyes while your mind began racing into a bout of irrational anxiety, all over what could be lurking nearby. "How is it up there?" You shouted to Junkrat, voice piercing the mostly quiet atmosphere, "Can you see anything?". No response reached you, just the tinny sound of him continuing to hobble about above. "How is it?" You yelled again. Not feeling very much persistent in trying to grab your companions attention, you decided to rest and regenerate upon the ground.

For a long while you stayed in the shade, relaxing your limbs and aching joints, still wary and nervous of your surroundings.

Evening began lurking about, riding in on the warm winds accompanied by reddening light and growing shadows. There was not a sound heard from Junkrat all that way above, and you couldn't catch sight of him either. You tried to rouse some attention from him, bellowing his name among other things. His possessions still sat beside your own, so you didn't think he'd up and left you as you napped, after all he promised he wouldn't. Maybe he was still purposely ignoring you. After several more tries to get his attention, and several pieces of scrap thrown up in the Junker's direction, you thought maybe clambering up the towering thing yourself would be a reasonable decision, albeit a foolhardy and dangerous one. The thought of being alone on the ground in the gloaming, when darkness started rolling in, left you unnerved and frightened. Whatever prowled about here at night couldn't be all pleasant, you thought of the snakes again, of wild dogs, of irradiated nocturnal terrors liberated from the sun. You observed the decaying robotic part before you, taking note of all the things that Junkrat had used to find his way up. With a deep inhale of breath you mustered up what courage you could and proceeded to climb.

It was ordealing, arduous, and painful.

The metal was blistering hot, and its sharp edges dug into your palms as you struggled finding where next to place them. Getting a hold of your footing was no easier task. Every time you moved your injured arm you hissed and grimaced as the wound was stretched. You repeated to yourself "Don't look down, Don't look down." over and over as you ascended further. A need to rest was felt when you were half-way to the overhang. This really was not a thing you should have been doing, but fear drove you to.

When you set off to go again, you placed a foot down too hard and what you were stood on broke away and fell, leaving your foot dangling. You gasped and clung on for dear life and a familiar voice chimed down from overhead.

"That was a close one!" Junkrat chortled as he peeked down at your struggling figure.

You aired a noise of annoyance upon the realisation that your climbing efforts had been wasted, that the Junker had just been playing games with you. "Why weren't you answering me before?" You grunted, "Can you see anything up there?"

"A few things." Junkrat answered.

"Yes, but like what?" You proceeded to climb further up.

"Ay, now what're ya doin'?!" He yelled down to you, perplexed that you were continuing on, "I'd turn back and go down if I were you."

"Don't think that I'm going back down...after I made it all this way. I thought you wanted me to climb this bloody thing anyway." You panted, breaks in-between your words as you focused on finding your way.

"Yeah, but not by yerself." Junkrat said with a frown. If things had gone ideally he'd have been right behind you, a barrier between you and the ground. He wasn't much fond of the idea of someone he saw as so fragile plummeting from a height straight into the Earth. Plus if you got injured again that meant more whining for him to put up with.

"I'm fine, I can do this!" You shouted.

It was a little while later when you reached your goal, having taken your time. Being slow and steady.

Junkrat reached an arm out to you and helped pull you onto the overhang. As you scrambled onto your feet you looked straight down below, and alongside dizziness you felt a sense of pride within you. It was a pleasant feeling to have conquered something you initially though terrifying and impossible for yourself, and to have endured the pain of it all. "Didn't think you coulda pulled that off by yerself. Colour me impressed, Sheila." Junkrat said with raised brows.

"Yes, well, don't make assumptions next time." Your voice was breathy as you spoke, winded from the exertion. "Are you sure this is quite stable?" You asked as the overhang creaked when you moved on it.

"Oh, sure!" Junkrat exclaimed as he started jumping up and down on it, like some sprightly wallaby. It caused the metal to wobble while he laughed wildly. It sent you into a small bout of panic.

"Stop! Stop that!" You screamed, and Junkrat soon packed it in, although your fear mostly humored him. After you had collected yourself you asked "What do you see out there that you recognise then?"

"A couple a' things. Like that place there."

You brought your gaze to where Junkrat gestured to, out on the horizon where sour earth met sand, there was a place that looked grim and desolate. A junkyard it seemed at first glance, brown and rusted. "What is it?" You asked, shielding your eyes from the sun.

"It's an old mine...or at least I think." Junkrat said.

"You think? Do you remember it being somewhere along the way to your home then? To Junkertown?"

"Ah, sure! I remember goin' there a few times." Junkrat laughed to himself, as if he was recalling some humorous memory.

"Well then, I suppose that's good." You sighed out of contentment with a smile, "If it's a mine, what's all that garbage looking stuff around it then? I'd have thought that would be all gone by now."

"Worthless, that's what it is. Just a bunch of old tools, no good for anything." Junkrat explained, with a tone of resentment.

You moved to sit just a way off from the edge of overhang, still observing the far off decrepit place and pondering. "What did they dig for there? I wonder..."

"Somethin' shiny, I'm sure."

* * *

Looking out across the land you began to appreciate the sort of remote beauty it still held. Stretches of gold and tawny as far as the eye could see, met with russet earth and sparse patches of withering shrubbery. Ochre rock dotted the landscape, appearing to glow in the illumination of the now setting sun, and an ill looking smog rolled in on the horizon. You wondered what it was all like before the Omnic crisis, how much more beautiful it must have been. It appeared a place where once one might have expected totemic figures to cross in ages long past, and now their tracks lead through graveyards of steel and brutal beacons of conflict.

As you were admiring the landscape, a pang of loneliness struck your spirit. It was so far removed and isolated here. You felt as empty as the barren miles you had crossed. You couldn't imagine what it was like for Junkrat, wandering about here all alone.

"What'cha thinkin' about there, Sheila?" Junkrat asked as he placed himself down beside you.

"Nothing." You replied, "I do have a name you know, I told you."

"I know, Sheila."

"It's (y/n)."

"Right."

You looked over to Junkrat, somewhat awkwardly and fidgeting. "You forget things a lot, don't you?"

"Well, can't say ya wrong there. It's sorta just me, ya know?" The Junker bore a disconcerted look as he explained, "Sometimes I can't remember what I can't remember." He went on to say in a deeper tone.

His forgetfulness matched with the rest of his odd traits, and you decided to put it down to the environmental influence. "I can be like that too sometimes honestly." You added with a sympathetic smile, hoping to appear understanding.

"Wouldn't have thought."

Your smile faded and you looked back out to where the golden sun was sinking. "Looks sort of strange, doesn't it?" You commented, squinting off to the distance. The colours of the sunset mingling with those of the land presented it in a hallucinogenic manner.

"Much like yourself." Replied Junkrat on a flat tone.

You frowned at first, but soon snickered, "I could say the same for you!"

Junkrat joined in with your laughter, "Oh, really?" He questioned.

"Yes. Really."

The sun sank further down and the blending of deep red and gold served a forewarning that night would soon be on its way. Neither of you felt need to travel through the dark, and so you agreed not to stray away from the giant robotic limb until morning came about.

"So, we head for that mine to-morrow then?" You asked, giving one last look at it before you departed for the ground.

"Yeah, should be able to find our way to Junkertown from there I bet."

"Then I suppose we should get some rest." You said looking down at where you had climbed up. You hadn't really given going back down much thought and now the task had presented itself to you, your stomach knotted and you very much regretted clambering up in the first place. Slowly shuffling your feet towards the edge you heaved a great sigh, not entirely sure how to go about it. Looking down at the drop to the sandy ground was unavoidable and you felt slight vertigo.

"Hold on, hold on there, Sheila!" Junkrat exclaimed as he made towards you, "I'll go first, an' you follow after, right?"

"Alright then."

* * *

It was exactly four times, four times that Junkrat had your rear right in his face whenever you had lost your footing, but he helped you each time despite overwhelming discomfort. He counted it among the most awkward experiences of his life, and was incredibly grateful you were unaware of his burning up face.

When you reached the end Junkrat helped you down gently, wary of how worn and weary you were. Was he uncultivated? Unsophisticated? Perhaps, but that didn't stop him from trying to be something of a gentleman when he wanted to. It wasn't a usual manner in which he behaved of course, but he'd found reason to make an effort for you (a big effort in his eyes), even if you didn't always interpret it in the manner which he would have liked.

"I could have done that myself you know." You said regarding the last bit of assistance from Junkrat.

He quickly turned sour, as he had done before. "Now, why've ya gotta be like that?" He queried, "I was just tryna help a bit more, couldn't ya be a bit grateful? Or is helping someone a crime now!"

"Yes, it's a crime. The absolute worst you'll ever commit." You teased, "No...I just want you to know that I'm capable of the little things myself."

"Well, okay, but you're all hurt an' everything."

"But it doesn't hurt so much for me to just...step off onto the ground."

"I'd rather you didn't hurt at all." Junkrat blurted without thought. He fell quiet as you slowly looked over him with widened eyes.

A soft smirk grew on your face, "Oh you would? Would you? So you do care about me? And here I was thinking you're always ready to ditch me."

To say that Junkrat was feeling embarrassed would be an understatement. His cheeks were red, like roses on either side of his face, standing out against the muck that coated him. "Now, just when did I say I care?" He yelled as he furrowed his bushy brows.

"If you don't want somebody to hurt, that's caring I'm afraid. Whether you like it or not." You replied.

"Gah! Bloody hell...fine then. Whatever, I'm done with all this sop." Junkrat said as he stormed off leaving you with nothing short of a grin upon your face.

Though there were little moments where you smiled and joked, your mind could never sway much from the tragedy that had brought you to the Outback. You saw a falling plane in the flies when they landed, and the bodies of passengers in every load of sun-dried bones and carrion you passed. You thought that you should keep your mind occupied at all times to prevent yourself from thinking about it, though that was hard being where you were with but one companion, and an odd one at that. Junkrat certainly was an acquired taste. He was sour that you had somehow began finding sort of sweet. The broadness of his accent and continuous use of old-fashioned words proved to be endearing to you. When he was enthusiastic his voice grew in pitch and in little, quiet moments, his voice deepened and you felt a side of him that was, to plainly put it, nice. He was maniacal and just about feral, with a desire for nothing much more than mayhem and destruction in its rawest form. And now you found yourself growing fond of him despite all that. You only wished he could understand what sadness you felt...and that maybe he'd stop getting under your skin so much.

* * *

When the night moved in and gold hues turned to blacks and blues, you pondered on to-morrow. You didn't see a future really, but the discovery of the mine brought a morsel of hope to you. Junkertown was not a place you wanted to be, however you had come to accept that it was either there or death. Well, at least if you died in Junkertown it would likely be quick.

Arranging clothes from your suitcase on the ground to lay upon, you wondered how far you were from a town that wasn't so inhabited by cut-throat people.

"Junkrat, um, Jamison?" You said, hushed and timidly, "How far are we from a real town actually?"

The Junker was sprawled out across the ground a way off from you, and even though he wasn't beside you, you could still smell him. "Well, I don't reckon we're that far off from Junkertown. We'll head to that mine, then I guess we'll find our way from there."

"O-oh no..." You faltered, "I meant...proper civilization."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Junkrat snapped in response, casting a scowl in your direction.

"Well I-"

"Right. I know exactly what ya mean."

And not another word came from either of you that cold night. Junkrat soon fell asleep, drooling and snoring lightly. You had to fend off an assault of bad thoughts before you could even keep your eyes shut.

He dreamt of explosives and the thrill of destruction, and you didn't dream at all.

* * *

With eyelids fluttering you awoke late into the morning. Mind utterly blank, only aware of the blinding light and the stabbing pain of hunger in your stomach. The heat felt as hot as bush-fire and you found what shade there was no longer did much to help. Just a little way from where you lay stood Junkrat, his back facing you and fumbling about with something indiscernible that struck up curiosity. "What are you doing?" You droned in your slow morning voice.

"Just gettin' ready to cook up somethin'" He replied, just slightly alarmed by your sudden words.

You brought yourself up to your feet, brushing the dust from yourself and stretching your stiff and sore limbs. When you had walked over to Junkrat, you were met with a reptilian face thrust directly into yours. "Ain't he a cute little bugger?" Junkrat commented on the deceased goanna he held in his arms.

"Little?!" You exclaimed, "He's very much the opposite of that. Tell me this isn't what you're cooking, because there's no way I'm going to eat it."

"What're ya gonna do then? There isn't even grass here I could tell ya to go munch on. It's either this fella or nothing, besides he's already dead."

You brushed a finger on the lizards scaly forehead, "Was it you that killed the poor thing?"

"Yeah, and so what? Believe me it wasn't easy either, these things are fast, weigh quite a bit too, so it'd be nice if you'd show some appreciation." His brows furrowed into that frown you had become accustomed to seeing.

"I...I do appreciate the gesture, I just don't appreciate death." You stammered, looking sadly at the goanna, "I'm not going to eat it."

"Ah, just c'mon would ya, Sheila? I even promised meself I'd save the best bits for you and everythin', and first! Ladies first 'n' all that." Junkrat blurted, sounding somewhat whiny, "It won't do any harm and it's ah, a delicacy too y'know!"

You gave a weak smile. He really was being somewhat sweet in his own little manner. "Well that's very nice, but I couldn't even handle seeing you eat a lizard, how do you think I'll be able to do it myself?"

"Sheila, it's not going to look like this when you eat it. It'll be fine, alright?"

"But it's not..."

"Suit yourself." Junkrat then murmured, turning to continue with his preparations.

You went over to pack the clothes you had slept upon back into your suitcase, all the while Junkrat started a small fire with dead parts of shrubs torn from where he had caught the goanna.

As you saw Junkrat bend over to tend to the fire, his tattered shorts slunk slightly down his slender waist, revealing the very top of his buttocks. A single drop of sweat ran down his spine and you watched as it fell South behind his waistline. You had never really taken in his figure properly before, and it wasn't something you were entirely comfortable with doing. His skin was glistening with sweat in the sunlight and you looked at every curve as one would look at the curves of a landscape. You thought he would be an interesting landscape to wander, to explore his every hill and crevice. You felt a strong sense of shame welling up within you, and you thought to put the memory of this moment away, somewhere where it might be forgotten. Besides, he was filthy, unruly, and strange smelling to boot.

"Oi, Sheila! It's all cooked if ya want any!" Junkrat called over to you.

"I told you, I'm not eating that!"

Junkrat shrugged and you looked on as he ate, ramming it all into his mouth with juices cascading down his chin and making a lot of noise. It wasn't exactly pleasant. "You sure ya don't want any? It's good." Junkrat said, or more sputtered, as his mouth was still full with food.

You shook your head and instead took a morning ration of water.

You were light-headed and the pain of hunger hurt like the cut of a knife.

Junkrat had still saved the pieces of goanna meat he promised to you. You looked at it and looked away a number of times before you found yourself walking over. You felt sick and disgusted at the thought of eating it, but you couldn't take starvation any longer. There was no desert fruits that grew here. You felt so bad for the goanna, it was just trying to survive out here as you. "Ya wantin' some now?" Junkrat asked as you sat across from him, "It ain't your weekend barbie but it's good." He handed you the branch on which the meat was skewered. It did not look appealing to you, but either way you ate it in small bites and tried to think of anything but the goanna's face. Junkrat's expression lit up when he saw you had finished the meal. He felt maybe there was a bit more hope for you here yet. Lizards were a staple in the diet out here, so you'd have to get used to it unless you wanted to starve or eat the dust from the ground. You tried your best to keep it all down, it wasn't bad for what it was, it was mostly the thought of it that turned your stomach. Still, goanna meat was better than starving you supposed.

Noting that some blood had stuck to his arm, Junkrat spat on it and washed with the saliva. You turned your nose up at his actions, "That's disgusting." You commented.

"Nah, you're just too fussy is all." He replied.

"Oh...what I wouldn't give for a bath, a nice warm bed and a proper meal." You uttered under your breath. You wished so much that you had never gotten on that plane and regretted every deed that led up to it.

Junkrat mumbled nonsense in the same tone that you spoke in out of mockery, and you met him with a stern glare. "Quit you're whining would ya?", he said, "I don't want to have to put up with this all day."

The fire was put out and you prepared to commence walking again. Another day rushing from the inescapable sun, and another day weary.


	5. Within Cooee

You had found yourself trailing behind Junkrat in the afternoon, longing for rain and the sight of a rainbow snaking across the sky. Anything that would do away with this endless dry season.

You weren't whining over the lack of supplies, as you supposed Junkrat was expecting you to. Your provision of water was growing less and less and you found the stories you remembered hearing of people perishing in the Outback springing to mind. Thinking about it more made you realise how lucky you really were to have Junkrat with you, he wasn't the ideal, but he was something at the least. You supposed the kind of knowledge he held about surviving in this place was the kind that you drank in with the air after living off of it for so long. "Jamison!" You blurted, practically making the Junker fly out of his skin, "I just wanted to say, I mean, maybe I should have said this before but...thank you. I do mean it." You gave a kind look to Junkrat, only to be met with a baffled one from him.

"You're welcome." He said, "...What the heck are ya talking about though?"

"I'm thanking you for, well, looking after me I suppose is the way to put it. I'd probably be a lot worse off by now, or even dead if it wasn't for you, and you really didn't have to take me under your wing, I know you think I'm a real pain and all. So, thank you."

"It's ok. I think."

You beamed somewhat cheerfully before muttering to yourself, "I'll tell you what's not ok though, this infernal heat."

"What was that?" Junkrat queried, just catching the last of your words.

"Nothing, it's just...could we maybe stop and rest through the evening?"

"But the mine's just in sight, it'll just take us longer to get there then." Junkrat argued.

"Then we keep on walking through the night, at least my skin wont be burning then. How about it?"

"Well..." Junkrat sighed, "Fine. But I'm picking where we're stoppin', and no more complainin'."

"Deal."

The glaring sun had set the rusty earth simmering and you continued to walk further until you felt like drowning in the hazes of heat. Junkrat was trampling to and fro, looking for some decent place to stop. You weren't sure why he needed to be so picky, but trusted his judgement either way.

"How about we stop here?" He asked when you came to a large formation of rocks bearing decent looking shade from the sun.

You were about to say yes, but spying an incredibly large spider creeping its way along there changed it to a sudden "No".

The pair of you then chanced across a large witchetty bush, "Now how about right here?" Suggested Junkrat.

You observed it, and it seemed decent enough, though it was dried and dead like everything here now. "It looks well enough. Alright."

Junkrat seemed relieved at your approval of the location. There were no leaves above and no grub below, but regardless you made the witchetty bush into a reasonable resting stop for the evening. You pulled some clothing from your suitcase and placed them strategically across the many branches, a more refined version of what you had witnessed Junkrat do a while back. "I think that's about decent." You said when you finished with your work, seating yourself with a sigh of relief.

Staring straight out toward the mine ahead, you imagined it was growing more ominous with every passing minute. The entire area looked dismal. Malevolent looking tools and machinery protruding from the primeval landscape with ill intentions from long ago woven in. Just seeing the old mining place felt like some spiritual disruptance that only doubled. A wound left behind from where the arrow of the new world had struck.

You rolled yourself under the low branches of the bush, staying huddled there for a while. The shelter was hardly much. Bright light still found its way through the attire you had placed above and continued to cascade around you, still wrapping your figure in the warmth you were sick of. The small space between the branches and the ground did make it feel secure though, which was pleasant.

With every small hot breath of wind that brushed along the sandy earth, dust blew into your eyes and forced you to bury your face into your clothes. Nuzzling into the material, how much they'd started to smell struck like a blow to the face, the discomfort of having worn the same thing in such unwavering heat for so long increased the more you thought about it.

It was probably for the best to change.

"I hope you don't mind but, I'm just going to get changed. I can't stand wearing these clothes any longer." You announced while shimmying your way out from beneath the bush.

"Alright." The Junker replied.

"...Don't look!"

Junkrat sent a frown out of confusion your way, "What kinda bloke do you think I am?"

"It was only a reminder." You spoke while moving to the other side of the bush.

"Didn't need it." Junkrat mumbled as he went about busying himself with the laces of his boot, "Don't know why you'd think I'd wanna bloody look..."

The clothing you had pulled from your suitcase bore unpleasant marks, and still carried the scent of smoke on them. Putting them on proved difficult to an extent, your body covered with a great manner of sores and bruises. The material rubbed and caught on several wounds and scrubs, one sharp bolt of pain caused you to tumble from the shock of it, brushing the branches and hopping almost comically.

In an instinctive response to the movement of the branches, Junkrat turned his head in your direction.

Thankfully he didn't see anything, in-fact he couldn't with your body mostly hidden by what you had strewn across the branches of the bush. Facing away, he found himself feeling wrong for looking, exactly the sort of thing he said he didn't do. It wasn't out of any bad reason though, and you didn't exactly have to know.

Out of nothing more than pure curiosity, he wondered what kind of body you had under there, being from what felt to him like a completely different world. You weren't sculpted by the Outback, but it was certainly starting to style you already in its own violent way. He wondered if your body was as tender as you came across, well, maybe the injuries you had sustained could attest to that. It was the possibility of what features your form could boast that intrigued him, what sort of figure those far off fair places could carve. All these thoughts had him sweating, but why exactly he didn't know. Skin? He'd seen plenty of it of course. Excessive clothing wasn't exactly customary or necessary in the Outback, and he was the sort of bloke who would be more than content to roam about in just his jocks, and wouldn't pay no mind if others did the same. There was just something about you. Perhaps it was the fact that you were so strange and unfamiliar to him, emitting that little air of mystery. A sophisticated Sheila accustomed to an alien life.

* * *

Emerging from behind the bush, you were met with the sight of Junkrat lounging apathetically on the ground, tapping his fingers to some phantom beat. As soon as he caught sight of you he moved and busied himself, fumbling about with odd nonsensical things in a poor attempt to make himself look busy.

Stretching, you relished in being free of those old clothes and sighed out of relief to yourself, "This does feel so much better."

Junkrat responded with an unnecessarily harsh voice, assuming those words for him, "Well, whatever, good for you."

"Was I talking to you?"

"I'm the only other bugger here, so, I'd imagine..."

"I was talking to myself." You explained, "Why do you have to be like that anyway?"

"Like what?"

"Oh you know what!"

"I really don't."

"Can you just...just not be like this with me. I don't need it." You spoke while placing your old garb into your suitcase.

Eyeing up the old battered thing Junkrat kept those bombs of his in, you found yourself again inquisitive about the explosives. "What do you even need all those bombs for again? There's nothing here, so aren't they useless?"

"Sheila, there is not a situation I can think of that couldn't use a couple of explosions."

"Really? Even way out here?"

"Oh yeah!" Junkrat began enthusiastically, "Lotta competition round 'ere, say some bloke's tryna shoot me for stuff I got, what am I gonna do?"

"You, uh, try and talk it out like decent people?" You guessed.

"You could try, and don't go thinkin' that I'd dive straight into a scrap, but I'm not talkin' about decent people! So...I lob him a bomb and then he's not my problem anymore, or anyone else's for that matter."

"But he'll be dead. How would that make you any better than him?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Take him out for tea?"

"I'd have tried to at least disarm him or something..."

"Then you could've cruelled the whole bloody thing, and be dead yourself! It's just not how things work here, there's no place for tryna do anythin' peacefully, 'specially when a bloke's got a gun pointin' right at ya."

"Of course." You sighed.

"Plus there's no real fun in going about things that way. Bit borin'." Junkrat then went on to say.

"Well boring as it is, I believe peacefully is the right way to do things."

"And it might be, when it's not a kill or be killed sorta situation."

"Are you expecting to see anybody like that out here then?" You asked, feeling worried about just who exactly you could run into.

"Whether I am or am not doesn't make much of a difference. How can I be sure what I'll run into?"

"I guess you're right." You mumbled in defeat, "So they serve as a precaution more than anything else out here?"

"Well, kinda. There's a whole load of other reasons...and I just like seeing things blown up I guess."

"I suppose the explosions are nice to watch then...for you."

"Oh they're bonzer, Sheila, just beautiful. Real sight to see." Junkrat gushed. The mere thought of explosions alone seemed to send him into euphoria, an almost unsettling look of bliss upon his face as he recalled many a fiery and deafening blast.

"Do you buy the bombs or whatever then?" You asked, pulling him from his trance.

"Not at all, make 'em meself." He puffed out his chest in a look of pride.

"That's nice." Was your only reply as you moved back to the shelter of the witchetty bush, removing your shoes before lazing in the shade.

It made Junkrat feel somewhat hurt with how half-hearted your words were, he found himself wanting you to appreciate them. Whenever the opportunity revealed itself he'd show you the explosions, along with his ingenuity.

From where you huddled beneath the bush, you observed the movement of Junkrat in your drowsy state. He was so oblivious to anything going on outside of what he was doing. First pulling and toying with thread from his shorts and then digging something up from the earth. His tongue hung from his mouth in an animalistic fashion, and he would twitch as he laughed to himself, amused in whatever thoughts he was taking up.

There was an unforgettable aspect to his movement, to every strange gesture and the way his body would bounce when hobbled about.

Every action you observed started to suggest things they didn't before, as you found yourself unwittingly captivated.

He wasn't easy on the eye at all, quite the opposite, but it was exactly that which drew you to him. That potent feral charm and his sharp features that verged on the edge of being unnatural.  
  
With his now grinning bestial mouth he really was quite a thing to see, like a dingo kind of you thought. Vicious looking, but something you could grow fond of. Something you WERE growing fond of, a lot quicker than you would have liked. Maybe if you had met him in a different circumstance, in a different place, you wouldn't find yourself slowly feeling the way you were.

When Junkrat saw your onlooking eyes, he appeared flustered, awkwardly rushing for whatever it was he just pulled from the ground. "You want it?" He asked, offering what looked akin to a large bolt. He couldn't think of any other reason why you were staring at him.

You politely declined and he almost instantly tossed it away.

* * *

Later you were roused from your rest by an unpleasant dream of what had brought you here, the thought of it being inescapable, and kept caged up in the back of your mind.

The sun had walked its way down, with ochre spilling across the sky, and the luminous moon had risen with a crowd of stars in what was a spectacularly bright night.

Before going your way in the night, you and Junkrat were content to gaze up at the sky. He sat just a way off from your side, the pair of you in an uneasy silence that was only broken when you asked "Aren't you cold?", shivering all the while.

"Yeah, why?" Junkrat replied.

"Just wondering, don't you have a top or something?" Your eyes ran up and down his bare torso, observing the goosebumps on his flesh.

He made a dismissive sound while twisting up his face, "Who needs one? Besides it's just gonna get hot again."

You shook your head at his logic and wondered what exactly was the limit of his hardiness, coping with one extreme to another and fighting the elements through day and night. "If you're cold there's no shame in asking to borrow, why don't you take something of mine to wear?"

"I don't know what you're thinkin', Sheila." Junkrat laughed, "We're not exactly built the same, there's no way anythin' of yours would fit me."

"So, you can just throw it over yourself, wouldn't that be warm enough?"

"I'm not doin' that. I do just fine without, thought you'd have noticed."

"Fine, suit yourself." You felt your teeth nearly chattering as you spoke, chills washing over you. "Couldn't you have made a fire or something?"

"What, for us to ditch it for the rest of the night? I don't see the point."

"Well...can't we sit closer together? For warmth I mean."

"Ah, sure, why not." Junkrat faltered as he moved only a morsel of a way toward you.

Turning your attention back to the night sky and its serene splendour, your sighs of disdain turned to gasps of awe as you witnessed shooting stars speeding across the heavens. "The sky looks so wonderful...clearest I've ever seen it at night." You marveled.

"I could say the same. The air's still chock-a-block with crap from y'know what, sometimes when it blows in ya can't even see half of these stars. Now, Sheila, you really like the stars and everythin' up there, don'tcha?"  
  
You gave him a little nod.

"Right, let me show ya somethin'." He gestured to the dark patches of nebulae that were visible in the sky, "See that all the way up there? That's the big emu."

You scanned where he was pointing with narrowed eyes.

"Don'tcha see it?" He asked, feeling frustrated at your difficulty sussing it out.

After just a few more seconds of you squinting upward, he was exasperated.

"Here, c'mon." He sighed while moving himself nearer to you reluctantly, "It's right there."

Junkrat slowly hovered his hand over one of yours, having second thoughts about just what he was going to do next. "M-may I?" He stumbled on his words. You simply nodded in response again, and he took your hand in his, tracing the constellation with the tips of your fingers. The way his grip felt suggested he didn't want to be touching you at all, as though if he maintained contact with you much longer it'd melt the flesh from his bones. Yet there was a splendid sensation blossoming within yourself at the touch. "You, ah...ya got it now?" Junkrat then stammered, releasing your hand.

"Yes." You gasped, filled with wonder as you admired the avian figure in the sky. "It's incredible."

"Too right. That emu got up there a long time ago, some old bloke told me about it once, 'course I can't remember who the hell he was but giant emus tend to stick with you, ya know? I reckon it must have been alright back then, before folks were even thinking about robot wankers an' all that garbage."

"I wonder what everything looked like that long ago. Would you have liked to have been around then?" You queried.

"Maybe. Then again, bet they had a lot less bombs and whatnot back then...I'd miss that."

You gave a modest laugh at his words and the almost lamentable look on his face when he thought of a life without his explosives. "Well, I think it's a good job you're around now and not then, I think this world has a lot in store for you."

"Ya mean that or..."

"Obviously I mean it." You smiled gently at him.

"First time anybody's said anythin' like that to me." Junkrat chortled, "Would never have expected it to come from a nice Sheila such as yourself either. Makes for a decent change." He then met your gaze with a look that emanated warmth, his wild nectar eyes appearing welcoming with his now appealing softened expression, swathed in the starlight. Your staring lingered a lot longer than you would have liked while you struggled to fathom just what exactly you were feeling.

It was a sort of developing attraction that pulled you in against your own wishes.

"Do you think we should set off now?" You asked on a low tone, wanting nothing more to be torn from this situation.

At first you thought you were imagining things, but Junkrat began leaning closer and closer to you. Close enough that you could see the dirt buried in his pores. Close enough for you to feel the heat of his breath.

You closed your eyes, mindlessly expecting a certain sudden out of character move from Junkrat. Your heart was practically leaping.

Nothing happened.

You opened your eyes a moment later to see Junkrat cupping one of his ears, his face scrunched up and trying to discern something.

"Ya what?" He said, "Sorry. Didn't catch a word there, Sheila. Ya gotta speak a bit louder."

Your heart sank and a sense of mortification started taking hold as you wondered just what the heck you were expecting and why in the world you'd want to be involved in that way with Junkrat. The smell of his breath was almost enough to make you gag alone, and when was the last time he took a bath? Would you really want to do THAT with him?

You fed yourself the negative aspects of him to suppress your rebellious and inappropriate thoughts and heaved a sigh as you watched him pick frantically at the ear he had cupped, as though there was something stuck in it. Charming.

"...I was saying...should we be on our way now?" You spoke as if what just happened didn't occur at all.

"Sure, let's get a move on."

* * *

Your thoughts were turned to the stars again when you ambled on toward the mine. "Can't you find your way using the stars?" You asked, looking up and trying to focus on individual ones that looked of some notoriety, "That's how everybody used to remember where places were, right?"

"Right, but I don't really look at 'em that way, plus there's an awful bloody lot." Junkrat answered.

"Isn't there big stars or something you're supposed to look for? Can't that emu in the sky help you?"

"Look I don't know!" Junkrat snapped, casting a glower your way that soon softened with his tone at your sudden sad bearing. "I don't know how to walk about places using the stars or whatever."

"Alright...I just...would have thought maybe you could seeing as though you've lived here all your life." You said on the verge of a whimper, regretting asking in the first place. You thought Junkrat might be the kind of person who was more likely to try and steal the stars from the sky if he could, rather than navigate with them. Perhaps there were old tracks that led through Junkertown, just unknown to the likes of you. "How long do you think we're away from Junkertown now anyway? Are you really a hundred percent certain this is the right direction?"

"What? You gettin' the feelin' we're not even within cooee of the place?" Junkrat replied, "Of course I'm certain, I remember this bloody mine, didn't I say so?"

"..Yes...but where do we go from there?"

"Straight on."

You stopped in your tracks and Junkrat followed suit. "Ok, I just...can't deal with all this walking anymore, I feel about half-dead." You complained, still unable to see a future beyond this place. "I just want to be home." You mumbled sorrowfully.

"And you think I don't? I've got somewhere to get back to as well y'know."

"I wasn't suggesting that you didn't!" You exclaimed, "But my home just happens to be a tad further away than yours, and it's not like I'm all the way out here because I wanted to be!"

"Oh right, because I never would have guessed." Junkrat commented receiving a scowl from you, to which he responded by sticking his tongue out childishly.

"Why are you being so rude all of a sudden? Maybe I should just go off on my own." You weren't at all being serious.

"Crikey, not this again. Don't be such a flamin' galah!"

"You're the literal flaming galah!" You motioned to his burning hair, "Look at you, you're on fire. How does that even work?!"

"Sheila, ya drivin' me bloody yarra!" Junkrat yelled, whatever he was going to say next got lost on his tongue when you began staring hard at him.

"Oh really?" You said, "Oi, look at me, I'm a real trash vulture an' I'm so great, hooley dooley!" You imitated Junkrat's voice and gait and it didn't impress him very much, but you had made yourself laugh anyway.

"Let's just get goin' again." He sighed.

* * *

Junkrat imagined you from the big push and rush of some far off city, the type where one wouldn't have to put up a fight just to survive, Now by some wicked fate, some horrid luck, you'd found yourself cast into the sort of place that chews you up and doesn't have the curtsy to spit you out. "Ay, Sheila." He said to you as you ventured on further to the mining place, "Couldn't help but wonder...what kinda place ya from exactly anyway?".

"Somewhere with a lot less dust, I can tell you that." You mumbled in response, rubbing your eyes, "Why do you care anyway?"

"Don't know." Junkrat answered, receiving a grunt of disapproval from you.

He had also assumed that you saw yourself far above him, and despised your disdain for some of his ways, dismissing you as far too finicky. There were things about you that made him grin, but also brought about a desire to scream out of annoyance. However, he couldn't help but find himself at times feeling somewhat savage like in your presence, so ragged in comparison to a non-Junker type.

He told you the worst of his puns to lighten the mood on the venture, and whenever he got a smile from you it sent his heart soaring and left him baffled by the feeling of it. It all made him want to run off into the horizon. The more he thought about it the more confused he became, and the more confused he was, the more liable he was to snapping at you. It all stung as much as the cold of the night did.

As you began nearing the old mining facility, Junkrat saw fit to then tell you a whole manner of stories. Everytime he told something far-fetched you grinned, which only encouraged him to blather on more. Some of what he said was half true, but his tales grew taller in an effort to derive more awe from you and impress. You heard about the time he apparently took on ten people in a fight and won, miraculously hauled an entire ton of scrap across the Never-Never alone, and when he supposedly crawled miles and miles to Junkertown after receiving an outrageous injury from some "no good drongos". All very thrilling, but you found yourself focused mostly on his expressions and motions, and the way he would pause occasionally to obtain approval and validation from the amused look on your face. It seemed as if he'd been waiting to tell somebody all of this for a millennia, with his energy the kind of thing you wanted to bottle up and keep with you forever.

The howls and drawn out screeches of laughter he gave had your ears practically ringing, but the irregular changes of his tone in voice was somewhat adorable, along with every ecstatic movement. Eventually it started getting all a bit too much for your sore head.

"Jamison."

"Yeah?"

"Please shut up."


	6. The Gap in the Land

The mine reposed in corrosion as nature slowly consumed it, swallowing vehicles and tools alike, and all that was metal had rusted as red as the terrain. Being there felt indisputably strange, especially in the dark with jagged shadows stretching far in the moonlight and little eyes gleaming like head-lights from under oddments of scrap. The excavated area of earth itself seemed more like an abyss than any hole that riches were dug from, a bottomless void molded by steel hands and left forgotten, now no more than a gap in the land that left you pondering on what had been.

One would have expected to hear the sound of whirring machinery alongside boisterous voices echoing from corner to corner, but such sounds were absent, leaving only unsettling silence to be occasionally broken by strange strangled sounds and clatters from off into the night. The dilapidated machinery still stood sentient however, like industrial guardians amongst rock and dust. Dawdling at the mine was an idea you weren't fond of, the place set your blood running cold and inspired debilitating dread. Not even five minutes in you panicked and picked up your pace, over-taking Junkrat who now felt more content than ever to mosey about. "It's not a race, y'know." He said as he quickened to match your speed, hobbling with an excessively slouched posture.

"I know, I just...don't really want to be here for long."

"Why?" Junkrat asked, detecting the nervousness in your voice, "You scared?"

"No! No, not at all." You insisted, "Not keen on the vibes this place gives me is all."

"So you are scared."

"Nope." You kept your gaze to the ground as you continued on, hoping to avoid seeing anything that might frighten you further. Junkrat's mind turned elsewhere as he began trying to recount things and wandered off, investigating for anything that could jog his memory of times gone in this place.

You only noticed his disappearance from your side after continuing on for sometime, your head bowed and focused on pretending you were elsewhere, kicking up dirt as you went. When realisation hit that you were alone the worst things came to mind, having to endure the rest of the Outback alone and thoughts of nocturnal nightmares nabbing the Junker from your side. "Jamison?!" Your head swayed left and right in panic as you sought him out, "Where'd you go?".

An unmistakable cackle sounded from a distance behind, "Over 'ere!" Junkrat laughed as he waved to you from a pile of mechanical remains and corrugated ruins. Your fear stricken look soon turned to a frown as you stormed your way over to him.

"Why'd you go and do that?" You asked, angrily.

"What?"

"Leave me without telling!"

"Well I didn't exactly go far, didn't exactly think ya would make a scene over it either."

"I'm not making a scene." You argued, stamping a foot down hard on the ground, "I only want to be done with this place, okay? And haven't you been complaining about every little thing that slows us down? Now you're here weaseling about in garbage like we don't have anywhere to be going. Not that I should think we're actually getting anywhere."

"Alright, alright. I was only lookin' about."

"What's the point? Haven't you been here before?"

"A while back, yeah."

You shook your head and sighed, "Whatever, at least let me know when you're going to wander off in the dark, you had me worried for a second."

"You really are spooked, aren't ya?" Junkrat grinned.

"No!"

* * *

Across the twisted and serrated things that littered the ground sat an old construction vehicle, falling to pieces with peeling paint and perched at an odd angle. Being drawn toward it, Junkrat scurried his way over with you trawling behind reluctantly, cautious and wary while he was reckless and uncaring. He saw fit to climb his way up into the vehicle, crawling onto the torn seats with no doors to hinder him as they had been ripped asunder and left to rot amongst other waste. The whole thing tipped slightly with an awful screech as he made his way in.

"Oh, for goodness sake." You grumbled as he waved to you from the drivers seat. When you approached the side of the vehicle he patted the seat beside him with a goofy grin plastered on his face. You shook your head sternly.

"You get outta the wrong side of that wattle or what?" He said as his smile dropped.

"Maybe I did. Stop acting like a child and let's go!" You complained while a sudden breath of cold air set your hairs standing on end, "We shouldn't really be messing about here." There was a small voice in your head repeatedly begging you to turn and leave as you scanned your surroundings.

"Oh and aren't you just a bundle of fun." Junkrat mumbled sarcastically.

Taking his words to heart you entered the vehicle still wearing a scowl, "There. Can we get away from here now?"

"Certainly ma'am." He began while taking up a more polished tone of voice, "Where to?" He extended his arms to where a steering wheel would have been once.

"Are you kidding me?" You shot him an unamused glance and slouched back into the chair, "You really are hopeless."

Sprawling out further in the seat, you accidentally knocked Junkrat's foot with your own and retracted it immediately. He gave you a look from the corner of his eyes that made you feel small and meek. You weren't sure if he was mad at you for doing that, or feeling something else.

In silence you glared out the shattered front window, observing a huge tip-truck that stood in the distance near ruins of what might have been usable buildings. You wondered whether the people here had up and left or whether they were driven out by something the same way they drove out the life that lived here before. The life that now came creeping back in their absence. "I don't understand why they would just ditch this mine." You muttered, "There's so much stuff still here, I'd have thought they'd have took it with them when they went." You fumbled with your hands as you spoke, surveying the mountainous piles of tools and apparatuses from a bygone era. "How old is all this stuff exactly anyway? It seems ancient."

"Not sure." Junkrat replied with a faintly thoughtful expression, his brows knotting as he still clutched onto an imaginary wheel.

"Well then...if you're going to stay here, I suppose I'll just make my way across here alone and wait for you at the other side." You announced, "I can't take being here." The mine felt far too eerie for your liking, as if there really was something there telling you to go. "Terrible ride by the way." You began as you hopped out of the vehicle, "Didn't get anywhere and the driver stinks." Junkrat rolled his eyes and climbed out after you.

"You sure ya wanna go off on your own? It's not exactly safe." He gestured to a beaten sign that read "-ANGER" as the D had worn off.

"I'll be fine. I appreciate the concern though, I guess."

"Y-yes well," Junkrat stuttered, "I just don't imagine you'd cope bein' all...y'know."

You huffed and walked away with your battered suitcase trailing behind, no response to him voicing his doubt about you.

It wasn't too long before you regretted venturing on solo, yet you couldn't look back to Junkrat, wanting to prove you'd fare just fine independently.

The cold breeze seemed to stop, leaving everything feeling unnaturally still. Every faint noise alarmed you—the creaks and little clinks with sources masked by the darkness, and shadowy figures that appeared in the corner of your eyes, only to dissipate when you looked upon them panic-stricken. Fear only wrapped itself further about you as your unease increased with every step. Above all you were grateful that the night was bright, unable to fathom how you'd have managed in utter darkness. You expected something sinister to be lurking about at every turn and continued to cast nervous looks toward the gaping hole in the land.

Apprehensively, you continued to press on alone, regardless of everything that seemed to tell you not to.

Junkrat found himself unable to do as he wanted amongst the garbage, stumbling around almost absent-mindedly with every thought returning to you. Pictures of you managing to fall into the mine and encountering unsavoury things painted themselves into his mind summoning a feeling of unease, each image more grim than the last. Without interrogating himself over why he found himself caring so much, he followed your footsteps, not wanting to let you be by yourself in such a hazardous place any longer. He felt that if you were to die, your death would now be on his hands...and he didn't want that.

* * *

Around a corner was where Junkrat found you, on-edge, but managing all the same. His peg leg struck some half-buried material as he neared you, causing a sharp noise to chime out.

On hearing the sound and sensing a looming presence behind you, your body tensed. With raised hackles and fear clouding any judgement, you quickly turned and instinctively punched Junkrat directly in the chest. He yelped in alarm as he recoiled, cradling where you'd struck, "What the hell was that for?!"

As soon as you realised who exactly you'd hit, you covered your mouth and gasped in horror, "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! You startled me so much, see I heard some noise and-"

"It's fine, Sheila." Junkrat cut you off as his look of grimace switched to one of amusement.

"N-no it's not I feel terrible now." You fretted, "It doesn't hurt does it?"

At that Junkrat burst into laughter, "Don't give yerself too much credit, I'm fine, you just caught me off guard there."

"Okay, well sorry." You murmured, looking away from him in mild embarrassment. "Why'd you come after me anyway? I thought you were staying behind for a bit, messing about."

"Ah, right, yeah." Junkrat struggled to find the right words, "See, I thought maybe it WOULD be for the best if we hurried on through here together...right? Plus I don't reckon you'd be able to get through here alone in one piece."

"Nice to see you have faith in me, thanks." You scoffed, feeling quite peeved.

"Don't mention it."

"So, no fond memories to relive back there then?" You asked as the two of you set off again.

"Wouldn't say so, I had a couple a laughs here a long while ago for sure, not entirely fond memories however from what I can remember." Junkrat replied, drawing interest from you.

"Oh, I see. Now I don't want to intrude, but what did you do around here?"

"Can't recall everything, but yeah it's none of your business either."

"Truth." Was your only response to that, feeling bad for asking. You wondered if it was some illegal activity he had done here, but were there really any laws out here anymore? Or perhaps it was some bittersweet memory amongst all the grime and conflict he wished to keep to himself. You couldn't help but think about what it must have been like for him growing up here. When looking at him, you couldn't imagine him being anything but a scavenger all his life, but it was more than likely there was some tale of lost innocence, one he maybe kept locked away in his head or was possibly majorly lost to his forgetfulness. This all prompted you to try imagining some sort of family for him and wonder if there really was anybody for him back in Junkertown. "Jamison...do you have anybody waiting for you back at your home?" You asked, unable to look at him while doing so.

To him the question was odd and utterly out of the blue. He didn't care to respond with words and simply frowned your way.

"No family?...No Mr. or Mrs.?" You continued to question him.

At the latter Junkrat made a face of revulsion and hung his tongue from his mouth while making sounds of disgust, "Definitely not!"

You couldn't help but give a small giggle at that, "Calm down I was just asking."

He seemed to lighten up at the sound of your laughter, "Now, how about you?" He then asked, "Ya got anybody back wherever the heck you're from?"

His question brought flooding back memories of home, all that might be gone forever if you never made your way out of the Outback. It all stung greatly, not unlike the tail end of a hundred or so wasps. Faces you missed unmasked themselves in the daydream you had begun sinking into, and all the little comforts of home played out there too. A few tears fell, trailing down your cheeks and straying to your lips.

"I take it that's a yes then." Junkrat mumbled. Your sniffling and sobbing only grew in volume as you continued to think of home and that damned plane hurtling down. Nevertheless, you continued trudging on, finding your tears unable to fall any longer with your body lacking in water, but your whimpers still filled the area. "I didn't know askin' that would make you cry." Said Junkrat, "But, girly...I think you might be reacting over-the-top a tad."

"Don't you girly me, I can't help it." You wailed as you wiped your eyes.

"Alright, sheesh, you really are way more sensitive than anybody I've ever known. Takes some gettin' used to."

"Oh, I bet. You don't have to get used to me though, just bare with me for as long as I'm alive." You looked up to the stars and across to the great hole in the land, followed by a fleeting glimpse of the stark stretch beyond. "I only want to be home. No-one's going to find me here."

"I found you." Junkrat blurted.

"I know," You sniveled in response, drying your eyes, "It's just there's nobody here that could get me home again. I can't see past Junkertown, I can barely see myself past those rocks ahead."

"Well try to. You go from being alive to dead here in no time, all ya cryin' and complainin' is only gonna make things worse. So, ah, chin up I guess, Sheila. Besides, you're with me, ain'tcha?" Junkrat gave a crooked smile which looked more sinister than kind due to the way the shadows were cast.

"Yes...though I suppose somebody like you would expect cash or something in return for getting me anywhere safely." You replied with a croak to your voice.

"Nah, not really. I'll be honest...a Sheila like you? Don't much like the idea of ya rotting out in the sun, just ain't right I guess."

"Thank you for that mental image."

"No problem."

"I didn't mean it like it was a good thing."

"Whatever." Junkrat said as he waved a hand dismissively, "But seriously I'm not askin' for anythin' other than you stoppin' that whining, okay?"

"Okay, but I'm not sure what else you expect. I crawled out of a bloody plane crash for goodness sake."

"I know, all very tough for our damsel in distress."

"Don't you dare make a joke of it!"

For the next half hour or so you were incredibly sullen with just about every negative emotion trying to claw away at you. Your mood even proved enough to take your mind off how petrifying the mine was. Junkrat wasn't exactly over the moon about it for as much as he'd hate to admit it, he didn't want you feeling like that, plus you were more of a handful that way. He decided to make it his mission to try and cheer you up, regardless of how grizzly the outcome might be. He went through a range of ideas, but most of the scenarios he played out in his head ended with him being slapped or you being just plain angry.

When coming to the haul truck that looked about the size of a house, he rifled about in the dirt and pulled up what was an old broken hard hat. "How about this, eh?" He announced, hobbling towards you. "I know some folks like you are real suckers for, ah, fashion I guess. Try it on, Sheila!" He offered you the hat and when you didn't take it, he placed it on your head without your approval. "Lookin' schmick." he commented, giving you a thumbs up. You sternly folded your arms and sent him an incredibly unimpressed look, evoking nervous laughter from him. "Ah, okay then. How about me?" He then took the hard hat and wore it himself, leaning against the haul truck and waggling his brows, "Whaddya reckon?".

"You're delightfully atrocious to look at." You replied in a monotonous tone.

"Delightful, huh?" He beamed from the validation, if not feeling somewhat flushed.

"Mostly on the atrocious side I meant." You said, and with that comment he flung the hat away. It spiraled out of sight and landed on something with a thud. "Oh...I was kind of hoping it would fly back like a boomerang, you know, but hit you in the face." You were at your wits end and not up for any of his antics.

"Real nice."

He went on trying a manner of impressions and went through a list of incredibly bad jokes that only made you roll your eyes. You were completely oblivious to the fact he was going out of his way to make you slightly less miserable and, bless him, trying his best. "Is there anything at all that'll make you...how should I say it...more tolerable at the time being?" He asked, almost bereft of any will to continue.

You dismissed him and moved over to the side of the haul truck, so great in size that it blocked out any ray of light from the moon and stars. Like everything else at the mine it had fallen into disrepair, missing parts and covered in speckles of eroding yellow paint. "Look at the wheels on it," You muttered as you placed a hand on a shredded tire, "They're so big, this thing must be so old." Surveying it sadly, you tried to think again of the people that were here and left so long ago, all the while Junkrat tried for your attention. He seated himself on a railing at the front of the vehicle and you cringed while watching him gingerly bring himself to his feet, balancing on the unstable bar that creaked and shook as he poised himself almost as a tightrope walker. You were absolutely baffled as to what he was hoping to achieve.

With all his weight pressing down on the railing the bar snapped suddenly, yet unsurprisingly.

Junkrat fell onto the smaller bar below accompanied by a loud clang, his crotch hit the metal with such impact that even you winced.

"Crikey..." He wheezed in pain, biting his wobbling lip as his eyes watered.

You covered your mouth and giggled. The more you looked at him squirming and cupping himself the funnier it got, "Oh that really was something!" You howled. He let out more sounds of pain and your giggles developed into bouts of unrestrained hysterical laughter that echoed throughout the facility. Junkrat gave a slight strained chuckle, glad you seemed in a better mood, but in pain and humiliated to death. He was, more than anything else, grateful that the redness of his face wasn't so visible in the night. "Are you okay?" You asked through suppressed cackles.

"Sure. Never better." He hissed while removing himself from the railing and stiffly walked over to you with more of a hobble than usual.

"I hope so." You said with a titter, "God, that was stupid. What the hell were you even trying to do?"

"Honestly I'm not even sure." At his words you only erupted into more laughter. "You think I'm a real wacko, don'tcha?" He sighed.

"Well everybody has their way."

* * *

Deciding to take a gander at the huge expanse dug into the earth, you peered down into it from the edge alongside Junkrat. Machinery was still lined like a procession down to the deep, as if the people here had vanished mid-work. The mine-shafts themselves had all but collapsed by now and you dreaded the thought of what could possibly be lurking in them, maybe mutated things formed after the blast.

The emptiness of the mine worked its way into your soul, the sinister and strange reminder of what was and what maybe shouldn't have been. Whatever they dug for, the threatening aura of the apparatuses made it seem something of bad intent. You didn't feel the scar left on the land was worth whatever they pulled up and with the aftermath of omnic onslaught, and the blast from that facility, it looked like no-mans land. "What do you make of it?" You asked Junkrat, curious for his opinion.

"Make of what?"

"All this here."

"Ah, well it does't look real great, does it? All those old bunged up machines and tip-trucks, it's a regular ole scrap heap and none of it's worth anythin'...makes me wanna cry if I'm honest." He looked sorrowfully upon the dug up stretch of land, "Think I'm chokin' up right about now."

"And you don't think there's anything sad about all this mean looking mining business here?"

"I do think there is, kinda." Junkrat said, matter-of-factly, "Real crook of 'em."

"It all looks so frightening, doesn't it? Why did they feel they had to do this though?" You pondered on a quiet tone. "Doesn't feel right at all."

"Well, there's always some new blokes that wanna do stuff like this I guess."

"I can't understand how anybody could give the okay to it."

"Sheila, look at what happened with all the omnic crap, you really think anybody cares? There's always some wankers that think they have the right to do anythin'. You think they asked us if it was okay for them to build that bloody facility? There's a pull to this land." Junkrat explained, "Think they can do whatever they want, like it's up for grabs." He shrugged nonchalantly, despite a sense of anger and resentment building up inside him.

"What was it like for you when all that happened?" You watched as Junkrat's face formed a frustrated expression. The two of you submerged into silence for a fleeting moment, an unusually strong gust of the cool air enveloping your figures. The breeze running through Junkrat's fiery hair appeared to send little spirals of smoke billowing away into the night. "Jamison?..."

"Hm. I try not to think about it." He replied, "Kinda hard though when ya livin' in a wasteland as a result of it all, but what's a little fallout, eh?" You looked to him worriedly, fearing all that he must've gone through, all that he never wanted to talk to a soul about. "I tell ya, all this omnic business, it'll make a desert of everywhere. No place for us lot in the world of the metal man, ay Sheila?" He continued.

You fumbled and mumbled, trying to find the right thing to say, not harbouring any particularly strong feelings for or against omnics at the time being. "I...I don't know."

"I'm sure you do."

"I'm sure I don't." You uttered, "I really do feel sorry though, for all that must have happened to you." Holding a desire to draw back that curtain of mystery Junkrat seemed to hide behind, you wished you knew what experiences exactly had forged young Jamison into the erratic Junker beside you.

"As much as I hate to break it to ya, I don't need any sorta pity."

"Of course, I'm sure you do just fine with nobody feeling anything for you. When was the last time you actually talked to somebody about this sort of thing? About anything? It can't be good being alone and keeping every thought to yourself, it's not healthy."

"And ain't I just the picture of health." Junkrat replied sarcastically with a moderate chuckle, "I do have to say however, this is sorta better then waltzing about by meself..." You gave a smile at that, but it dropped completely when he continued on, "...Even though my company is somewhat lackluster."

"You're not exactly perfect yourself." You snapped back.

"Don't I know it!" He laughed, "Y'know...you're really kind of alright, Sheila."

"Well if there's anything I wanted to be it's 'kind of alright'." The two of you exchanged a brief warm glance and the cheery look upon Junkrat's face struck you as somewhat endearing. "Promise me though that whenever I go, whether I die or by some miracle get home, you'll actually find some company that you like."

"Excuse you, but I can cope alone." He commented.

"But wouldn't you like somebody to talk to once in a while on all your excursions?"

"I'm happy enough talkin' to myself too."

"Just making a suggestion. Surely you must get very lonely, right?"

"Let's get a move on. It's botherin' me standin' still here." Junkrat said as he began wandering off.

"Oh come on now, you're definitely avoiding an answer to that." You followed him and caught what you interpreted as a glint of sadness in his eyes. Overall he did seem vaguely downhearted over something. "You do get lonely! Don't you?" You exclaimed with your eyes fixed on him. Junkrat only furrowed his brows in response, of course there were times when he felt lonely, but it wasn't anything he was keen to admit and solitude was something he had become accustomed to. "Well it's fine, we have each other for some time it seems." In a senseless decision that could very well be deemed poor, you encircled his torso with your arms and held him briefly, hoping that he might feel some reassurance in this land of uncertainty. Instead he felt such discomfort that the thought of ripping you from him and booting you away entered his thoughts. Pressed flush against his skin the strong scent of his stale sweat obscured your senses, and he felt rough and warm despite the climate of the night. There was a sense of security you discerned amongst other feelings, though you were lost on how one could feel secure with such an unhinged man. He was no guardian or safe port in a sandstorm, he was more of a guide that wasn't entirely certain of his way and more than a little on the strange side. Initially at the contact Junkrat froze, but then he writhed leaning away from you, and that was when you let go. "Sorry, I guess that was a bit forward of me." You said with downcast eyes and feeling a faint sense of shame. Junkrat's discomposure was evident as he struggled finding words, appearing to twitch in agitation. "Anyway," You awkwardly cleared your throat , "I know you're supposed to be a big tough Junker and everything, but that doesn't mean you have to hide your feelings about things."

"I'm not hiding anythin'." Junkrat replied, finding himself unable to meet your gaze.

"How stupid do you think I am? It's not exactly discreet, something is clearly bothering you."

You spent a good while badgering him about it all, only stopping for breath. It got Junkrat wishing you'd stayed grumpy, for he felt that never in his life had he been pestered about something to this extent.

Not hearing what you wanted from him, you eventually went quiet on the whole matter. "Not doin' bad now for being scared stiff of this place, are you? You haven't shut up in...forever." He remarked.

"Well, there's somebody here that's sort of taking my mind off it all now."

Junkrat stopped in his tracks and squinted in confusion, "Well who's that then?"

"You! You idiot!"

"Oh, right."

* * *

No matter how much you paused on your journey, the physical pain never seemed to subside. Your bones ached, every inch of your limbs felt far too tender to touch, and cuts continued to tear themselves open again. Blood still mingled with your hair, refusing to wash away with all the sweat that caused it to stick to your head. The worst thing, you felt, was the ceaseless intolerable chafing of your feet with every step. Having about enough of it all, in the shadow of diggers and wrecked apparatuses, you stopped to remove your shoes as they only continued to make the pain worse. You tore them from your feet and tossed them furiously away, relishing in blisters being free from friction. "You'll regret that." Junkrat said in a sing-song voice.

You grumbled and tried to think of something assertive to say, feeling much better alleviated from the pain the shoes inflicted, but at the same time knowing Junkrat was right. With a pout, you walked over to retrieve them, toes sinking into the cool sandy earth.

It was when you bent over to pick them up that you caught sight of something. Not a work of the imagination, but a figure very real beyond the fairly distant fence that contained the area, disappearing off into the dark. You slowly picked the shoes up, eyeing the area ahead and returning to Junkrat's side with haste. "Did you see that?" You asked, nervously.

"What?" He raised a brow in curiosity.

"Oh...Nevermind." You felt that keeping what you saw to yourself was possibly for the best, fearing it'd be dismissed, and perhaps Junkrat would laugh in your face about it.

Insisting on continuing some of the way barefoot, you did come to resent the earth that worked its way into your wounds. It felt like there was to be no escape from pain.

The sight of that shady figure continued to bother you, whether it was something to worry about or not. The possibilities of what it was didn't make you feel much more comfortable and you hoped it was merely a large animal. At least you were in safe hands you thought, well about as safe as you could be with a skittish Junker that had a penchant for explosives.

Junkrat paced back and forth carrying himself in a crestfallen manner. He was plunging into thoughts about you, not just the predicament he'd found himself in. Thoughts of that sensation of your arms wrapped around him. Being so engulfed in unease, he wanted to distance himself from you terribly, yet he was unable to tear himself away. The feeling of the brief embrace had left him in a state, but he masked it well enough with whimsy and that toothy grin of his.

Despite how much he hated the touch of you, how much it initially repulsed him, he found himself wanting to experience it all again. The feeling of your arms about his torso he did find to be warming, a sort of warmth that grew to be blistering heat in the time you held him, like some conjoining of comfort and pain. "Are you feeling alright?" You asked him. At your words he straightened his hunched posture and appeared surprised.

"I'm feelin'..." He scratched at a balding part of his head as he thought, "We should blow somethin' up!"

"Are you serious?" You spoke in utter disbelief, "Have you seen this place? You could get us hurt or worse."

"I'm not gonna get anybody hurt." He insisted, "C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I think we have very different opinions on what fun is, and don't think I'm going to just let you do something like that."

"Pfft, who made you the boss of me?" He replied, storming away from you, "If ya need me just follow the booming sound."

"What? You can't just do that."

He continued to walk away without a word, leaving you alone again with the eeriness of the mine increasing, bereft of company. As fear started seeping its way into your soul again, you quickly followed Junkrat and he smirked and snickered having expected you to do exactly that.

You trailed behind him to a glum spot that accommodated the skeleton of a tip-truck and lingered at a distance from him. "Perfect!" He cackled, while observing the area, "Whaddya think about it, Sheila?"

"I don't."

"You don't think?"

"I meant I don't think anything of this place." You said shaking your head, "Don't tell me you're going to go ahead and blow all this rubbish sky high. We should be aiming to get out of here at least before daybreak!"

"Yeah? An' we'll do just that." Junkrat replied with a dismissive bat of his hand as he scurried about. "Bloody blow you sky high in a minute." He grumbled subsequently.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." He grinned in your direction feigning innocence.

You twisted your face in annoyance and proceeded to distance yourself far away from his spot, sheltering away from his reckless and explosive activities. With thoughts of shrapnel piercing flesh and losing limbs yourself, you cowered and your hope of getting away from here faltered once more.

Listening to the sounds of his movement you dreaded what was to come next, bracing yourself for an inevitable explosion and cradling your head in your folded arms. You asked yourself why he couldn't have a peaceful and less deadly hobby, and what was so great about bombs and such anyway? His passion for the damned things was endearing though however you looked at it, indisputably an unhealthy obsession but with admirable devotion that you doubted ever wavered. Explosives did very much fit his personality, more so with every sudden bout of laughter and the way he would quickly change from calm to vicious and bitter.

* * *

The eruption of flame succeeded by waves of dust that hurtled toward where you cowered conjured memories of the crash and its aftermath. Along with rising smoke, the blast brought back the taste of blood in your mouth, the sensation of a crushing weight atop you, and a throbbing pain in the injuries you had sustained. Junkrat decided to set off a second bomb and at the blast you felt on the verge of tears. You couldn't shake the thoughts from your head, even when emerging to see Junkrat flailing about wildly.

The pleasure he derived from the explosions made him aggressively happy in such a way that he felt he could punch the lights out of anybody from the high of his excitement and peaking glee. Taking in every aspect of the explosions—so wondrous to him—he made noises that sounded like an unsettling fusion of barking and rapturous laughter. There was not a thing more joyous to him in existence. The enthusiasm he had for every bomb and their affect was at such a level that they felt as much a part of him as every limb and organ. His fervour for them had absorbed him to the extent that the explosives crafted his identity as much as he crafted them.

Nigh on aglow in the night among the dwindling flames, wearing that signature broad grin, he looked quite the startling figure still chuckling to himself in the aftermath. "Are you quite done?" You asked, strolling away from your cover.

"Now that ya mention it I could go for a couple mo-"

"No and no! We're leaving here now and I don't want to hear or see anymore explosions." The sudden tone of your voice had Junkrat taken aback.

"What's got you so riled up?" He queried, "Eh?" He continued to bug you as you carried on walking without a response to him.

Taking one last look to what damage he had dealt, Junkrat replayed the symphony of the blasts over in his head and found himself pining for the moment when he next might hear it. Although his elation had calmed he still felt lingering euphoria.

You had began trailing ahead of him and when catching up and taking note of the disgruntled look on your face, he felt the need to probe for its cause. "In all seriousness, what's got'cha so moody now? Ain't the explosions, is it?"

"It doesn't matter...and wasn't I moody before?" You replied, still wearing a frown.

"Maybe so," Junkrat shrugged, "But not all like this." He imitated the look of anger on your face while gesturing to it.

"I'm just annoyed because I want to get out of here." You insisted as the Junker shot you a doubtful look, "Okay, well, I really didn't appreciate those bombs and that's about the truth, alright?"

"How come though?" He asked, feeling somewhat downhearted you didn't take to majesty of the explosions, "I mean what's not to like about 'em?"

"A lot." You gave an exasperated sigh, "Look, I doubt you'd understand! You treat the detonation of bombs as lightly as a bloody backyard fireworks display."

"If ya say so, Sheila."

"Promise me you wont use any more while I'm with you." You pleaded.

"Nah. No promises there."

"Then please promise me you wont go and blow them up anywhere near me at least." Your tone became almost one of desperation.

"...Fine." Junkrat agreed, "Pity though."

"What's a pity?"

"That you don't like 'em. Was kinda hopin' that ya would." He turned to you in time to catch the surprised look on your face, "Kinda." He then stressed.

"Why would you hope for that? Then again, I suppose most people you've tried getting friendly with here are partial to them."

"Right, but who says I'm tryna get friendly with you?"

"Nobody, I was only suggesting I'm probably defying an expectation you have. Why should you care whether I like explosions or not anyway?"

"I don't care." Junkrat spoke firmly.

"Then why would you hope that I'd like them?" Drawing his gaze swiftly away from yours, his face twisted in confusion and thought as you looked on awaiting a response that you didn't receive.

* * *

Side by side the two of you strolled past more damaged warning signs, up unnatural mounds of earth, then down again.

Looking to Junkrat, his eyes cast up toward the Southern Cross, you thought of bothering him with questions of where the next day may take you, however all such queries vanished when your own eyes wandered downward—fixing on places they shouldn't and lingering there. You watched as his chest rose and fell in a deep sigh, finding yourself surveying every goose-bump on his unwashed skin as your glancing turned heedlessly to gawking. Every little movement of his provoked intrigue, his erratic behaviour met with strange movements made you feel as though you were examining something completely alien, like a scientist observing some unheard of creature and mentally recording its machinations. You thought him uncouth and at times disgusting but invariably interesting.

Spying you looking at him, Junkrat covered himself with his arms out of discomfort. "Somethin' wrong?" He asked as you faced away.

"I was just wondering...about a thing." You replied meekly.

"What thing?"

"It doesn't matter."

Junkrat eyed you suspiciously before returning to his thoughts, leaving you not knowing where to look or what to say or do. Eventually though, you found yourself looking him over again, your line of sight drifting from the gloomy landscape to him. Trailing over each visible hill and dip of his body, and across every odd point of his profile. Feeling your gaze upon him again he side-eyed you with frown, "Somethin's wrong, ain't it?" He said, "Why can'tcha tell?"

"It's nothing."

"Why d'ya keep lookin' at me all funny like then?"

"Well, I don't feel right and I've got a lot on my mind, okay? Thought you'd have gathered that." You replied without sparing a fraction of a second, "I'll be fine to-morrow, maybe." You didn't know what about the next day would change anything for the better, logic dictated the heat of day would only make things worse. The idea of slogging under the glare of the sun again brought only dismay, but maybe in the heat your mind would focus on that, forgetting all else.

"You can talk to me about whatever's botherin' ya, y'know." Junkrat spoke in a calm tone.

"And why would I? You wouldn't care."

"Too bloody right." He laughed to himself, "But honestly I wouldn't mind if ya felt like venting, I'd rather put up with that than you all worked up...again."

"Well it's something I don't exactly feel I can talk to you about. Let's leave it there."

Junkrat looked to you with a sly expression, a knowing smirk forming on his face. "Right, I get'cha."

The way he looked at you made you panic, fearing he may have uncovered that the very thing bothering you was in reality, him. "What? What do you get? Tell me!" You begged, a look of worry in your eyes.

"I get that you're still scared stiff of this place and embarrassed that I'm the thing keepin' ya from flippin' out." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh, yes...now that would be it." You felt relieved that he didn't catch on to things so quickly.

"Shouldn't fret about it, we'll almost be outta here. Quit givin' me those weird looks though, yeah? I'd be keeping my eyes ahead if I were you, we're at a mine remember?"

"How could I forget?" You answered, studying more neglected machinery and fencing. It almost felt like you were strolling through a war-zone being amongst so much ruin and broken things. The fear of falling down some deep shaft hidden from plain sight was something that never left the back of your mind, plunging through a dark recess until you struck bones of opal in the earth. An odd sound chimed out unexpectedly from nearby, spooking you to the point where your legs trembled and nervousness was made apparent in your expression. "Is this place anymore pleasant in the day?" You asked, "I feel maybe we made a mistake coming here in the night." Your fear did nothing but amuse Junkrat.

"Suppose in the day it's easier to see where you are...and what's gonna eat you alive." He said and covered his mouth as he laughed to himself.

You glowered and tutted, "That's not a thing to joke about."

"Says who?"

"Anybody decent." You snapped. Junkrat did naught but snicker at your response, only making you scowl more...and that made him laugh more. "You're such a child, are you ever going to grow up?" You spoke through gritted teeth.

"Me? Child?!" His voice still dripped with mirth, "If I was the child why would you need me to survive? If anything you're the baby here."

"How dare you say that! Sorry but not everybody's spent their life hunting for garbage in the Outback."

"And not everybody gets to be a softie with an easy life."

"What makes you think I've had an easy life?!"

"Seems like you've lived comfortably enough, act like it too." Junkrat said, taking on a sterner tone. You were seething with rage at that comment and clenched your fists so much that your nails dug into your palms. "Why you...you..." Your words faded and you took a deep intake of breath, exhaling as though you were releasing anger with the air. "No, you know what? I can't be bothered with this." You strode ahead so that the Junker was out of your sight and he only looked on confused, not understanding how anybody from a place he assumed to be free of hardship could lead a difficult life. He thought that wherever you were from you were well-to-do and without woes. "Of course everything's been just fine for me." You mumbled to yourself, "Surviving a plane crash? Oh sure, that's real fine too."

Junkrat's attention wandered away from your mumbling to the sight of what was ahead, rising ground from which sprouted a jungle of waste materials and unraveling fence wire, appearing not unlike cruel claws protruding from the earth in the night. The scene of destruction was something he'd usually enjoy, but here it alluded to his own troubles and tragedies in life. Of ruin on the land he loved.

His eyes focused on something where moonlight flooded the most, something that seemed to wave in the gust of freezing air that blew right through him. It vanished as soon as he blinked. Its disappearance roused suspicion and concern, for it was not part of any scrap that scattered the land nor the appendage of any curious creature. It had the appearance of a light material.

Drawing closer to the bottom of the littered mound, a sound not unlike that of feet trampling through sand was heard and that prompted Junkrat to bring a change to your route. "Ay, Sheila," He said, striding in-front of you to stop your walking, "How about we go around that ways." He pointed off in another direction and you shook your head.

"Why? that seems pointless. Let's just keep going forward." You replied, commencing walking again.

"I really don't think that's the, ah, best idea now."

"Why's that?"

"W-well you could cut yourself on all that sharp stuff...not exactly the best thing for ya. Don't wanna be clamberin' over all that in your condition."

"It's hardly that much of a problem. After all I've been through I don't think a couple of scratches is going to do much harm."

"Right, right." Junkrat chanted as he extended his arms so as to stop you moving further, "But I don't want'cha gettin' those scratches...I mean then I'll probably have to put up with ya complainin' about 'em for ages." He continued to ramble, stuttering and repeatedly turning his head this way and that like an animal on lookout. His words flew over your head and you began to zone out, completely uninterested in the nonsense he had to say. As your attention diverted from him, you stared blankly at the mound ahead. His voice became nothing but a jumble of sounds to your ears and as it faded you were drawn to another sound, that of faint murmurs among the diminishing words of the Junker before you. Judging that its source was directly ahead you made to follow it, mesmerized and utterly fixed on it, occupied by no other thoughts than those of the low tone that came carried in on the gentle wind. "What is it?" Junkrat asked with anxious laughter, knowing very well that you'd picked up on the indistinct chatter.

"Tell me you heard that too." A small smile crept across your face, "There's other people here."

"Yes I bloody heard it and I wouldn't be too happy about it if I were you. We don't know just what kinda types we could be dealin' with yet." Junkrat whispered.

"For goodness sake, I don't think they're here to hurt us."

"Whether they're here to or not doesn't mean they wouldn't."

"What, you suppose they're carrying a great load of bombs like you?" Your voice grew rather loud and Junkrat flinched at the volume, repeatedly hushing you with a look of mortification to his dimly lit face.

"You want us dead or somethin'? Keep it down." He said, "Do as I do. Remember who's got all the experience out here, probably best we avoid whoever's over there."

"And what if they're here to help?"

"I doubt it."

"Well maybe they would help if I told them everything that's happened."

"Doubt that too."

"I suppose you know just about everything, don't you? Whatever, I'm not going to miss any opportunity of a rescue because of you." You tried to tread away but were brought to a halt by Junkrat's decision to spring in-front of you no matter which way you turned. "I'd appreciate it if you cut that out." You snapped, grabbing him by the arms in a rash decision. His face dropped as soon as your hands clasped onto him, bubbling with anger at his exasperating behaviour.

"And I'd appreciate it if you quit actin' like a right idiot." He said, still speaking at a low volume and returning a frown, "Whoever's here's probably heard us now, best we slip off in another direction. I'm not gonna let ya walk right into death or somethin'...that's just gonna be a hassle for me."

"I'm not going to pass up on a chance to get out of here."

"I said I could take you to Junkertown from here, didn't I?"

"Well I meant out of here for good."

"And how exactly do you know whatever bugger's out there wouldn't just take ya there too?"

"Maybe they'd take me away from the Outback though. Neither of us know who they are, why can't you let me be hopeful? I'm sure if they wanted to do harm they would have killed us by now, if they've heard us and all."

"Fine then. You get goin', girly. Don't go blamin' me when you get a gun shoved right in ya face." Junkrat said in a hoarse voice, "By the way, I'd appreciate it if you let me have my arms back."

With a red-faced look of shock you quickly removed your hands from Junkrat's arms, having somehow forgotten they were still there. Getting the impression of both hilarity and embarrassment from Junkrat, you glowered and wiped your hands on your clothing as if you had stuck them in filth, much to his offense. In truth he didn't much mind your hands being there, even if you did look about ready to spit in his face.

You left Junkrat in silence, treading off uphill with a downcast gait and avoiding the rubbish that covered the place. You leaped over spiraling wire and cautiously weaved in and out of sharp fragments, trying your hardest to navigate safely in the dark. It felt more like clambering through the remains of some demolished building rather than any area in a mine. Barely even half the way up, one of your legs caught on a leveled fence with wires that had untangled themselves and were reaching up like a skeletal hand. It cut only a little, though it stung and you hissed as you tried to free clothing that had snagged. Glancing back to Junkrat, you expected him to be overcome with bouts of laughter at the mishap, but he remained quiet, observing you as you persisted on unto whatever or whoever he perceived as a threat.

As you ascended over the crown of the cluttered mound, what looked to be mountains far off in the distance was the first thing your vision was drawn too, silhouettes of teeth of rock way off where sky meets earth. A satellite passed overhead among the countless stars, bringing with its brief presence a reminder of your time up there in the sky, and your plummet back to Earth. Sorrow swelled up in you again but there was no time to weep and whine.

The crunching of loud footsteps trudging through dirt sounded out from below.


End file.
